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Paying Not to Know: Examining Sources and Consequences of News Avoidance

Last registered on June 26, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Paying Not to Know: Examining Sources and Consequences of News Avoidance
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013097
Initial registration date
April 14, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
April 16, 2024, 3:27 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
June 26, 2024, 7:38 AM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
Israel
Region
Country
Jordan
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Roee Levy
Affiliation
Yale University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Moses Shayo
PI Affiliation
King's College London
PI Name
Guy Yanay
PI Affiliation
Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-04-15
End date
2025-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Crime, Violence, & Conflict
Additional Keywords
media, identity, political economy, news
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We study how much individuals are willing to pay for different news articles depending on group identities. We also examine the implications of news avoidance and news exposure on attitudes and beliefs.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Levy, Roee, Moses Shayo and Guy Yanay. 2024. "Paying Not to Know: Examining Sources and Consequences of News Avoidance." AEA RCT Registry. June 26. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13097-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
This study consist of the following steps:
1) We will recruit participants to an online survey and explain to them that they will be shown a series of article. One article will randomly be chosen and they will receive a bonus if they correctly answer questions about the article
2) Participants will then be asked how much they are willing to pay to read 18 articles. The articles will be about the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and about other disasters.
3) We will then randomize a price and an article and participants will read the article if the WTP they stated equals or is higher than the price
4) After being presented with the quiz questions, participants will be asked several endline questions.

We will conduct two additional surveys:
* To analyze mechanisms we will analyze a separate survey categorizing the articles.
* To analyze whether the effect persist we will conduct a follow-up survey in the days following the main survey.
Intervention Start Date
2024-04-15
Intervention End Date
2025-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We will measure two families of outcomes
1) WTP - this outcome is the amount individuals are willing to pay to read different articles
We will test how WTP varies based on whether the article describes the participants ingroup or outgroup negatively. If we recruit samples in two locations, we will be able to also control for article fixed effects.

2) The effect of reading articles. This analysis is based on random variation in the article participants receive. We will focus on the following primary outcomes: comprehension and recollection of the articles, knowledge about the war, empathy and policy preferences.

For more details on primary and secondary outcomes, see the pre-analysis plan
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
For each participants we will randomize an article and a price for reading that article
Experimental Design Details
For more details on the experimental design, see the pre-analysis plan
Randomization Method
Randomization done automatically by Qualtrics
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Approximately 2500
Sample size: planned number of observations
- For the analysis of individual level outcomes our same size is approximately 2500 individuals: 2000 Israeli Jews and 500 Jordanians. In some specification will only compare specific treatments and our sample size will be smaller. - For the analysis of article level outcomes our sample size will be as large as 45,000 individuals*articles (depending on the specification) since each individual will be asked about 18 articles
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
~750 for the two group with zero price and an article on Israeli or Palestinian victims
~ 700 for the group with zero price and an article on other natural disaster
~ 250 for the two group with a maximum price and an article on Israeli or Palestinian victims
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Tel Aviv University
IRB Approval Date
2024-02-25
IRB Approval Number
0007258-3
IRB Name
Hebrew University of Jeruslam
IRB Approval Date
2024-02-22
IRB Approval Number
036_2024_IRB
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

PreAnalysisPlan.pdf

MD5: 8b6691b32d8bbdf66f259ac6aa1a35b8

SHA1: 2b57611133ebdf4903bd30a4836be78f6836ac0c

Uploaded At: April 14, 2024

Pre-Analysis Plan - Minor Update 2024-06

MD5: 0cf9995db28ed58f061939a29486f1b4

SHA1: 047188a2ff344cd5cf86e10b981c2dd33fa154b8

Uploaded At: June 26, 2024

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials