ABSTRACT

There is growing anxiety about the influence of international propaganda on public opinion. Under what conditions can countries shift foreign public opinion against an adversary? Does making people aware that news is coming from a foreign source mitigate its influence? I examine these questions in the context of Russian propaganda in the United States. I subject subgroups of Americans to an article from Russia Today (RT), a Russian international television network, criticizing the Ukrainian government. I vary whether audiences are aware of the message source, and/or the intentions, of the Russian-funded network. I show that exposure to information about Ukrainian human rights violations lowers Americans’ evaluations of Ukraine irrespective of source awareness – indicating that making people more aware of foreign propaganda does not attenuate its influence. The findings have important implications for understanding the micro-level effects of international propaganda and the effectiveness of counter-propaganda strategies.

摘要

人们越来越担心国际宣传对公众舆论的影响。国家在什么条件下可以将外国舆论转向反对者？是否使人们意识到新闻是来自外国的消息，从而减轻了它的影响？我在俄罗斯在美国进行宣传的背景下研究了这些问题。我将美国人的子群体置于俄罗斯国际电视网“今日俄罗斯”的一篇文章中，该文章批评乌克兰政府。我改变了听众是否知道俄罗斯资助的网络的消息来源和/或意图。我的研究表明，无论有关消息来源的意识如何，接触有关乌克兰侵犯人权行为的信息都会降低美国人对乌克兰的评价，这表明让人们更多地了解外国宣传并不会削弱其影响力。这些发现对理解国际宣传的微观影响和反宣传战略的有效性具有重要意义。