Abstract
Independent media is widely regarded as a cornerstone for democratization, but citizens may respond in diverging ways. This study investigates how locally sourced, uncensored media information influences beliefs, attitudes, and political engagement within an autocratic context. In collaboration with an independent media organization in Kazakhstan, I conduct a field experiment in which individuals are randomly assigned to receive non-mainstream political information via a fact-checking service. The intervention lowers the cost of accessing independent information by delivering daily fact-checked messages via a dedicated channel on a popular social media platform. Evidence from the pilot study indicates that exposure to independent information leads individuals to update their beliefs about the country’s limited democratic practices and to express greater support for protesters. It increases polarization in their views of both the regime and the opposition, while reducing polarization regarding information control. The pilot results also reveal that, on average, exposure to independent information reduces political engagement, particularly among individuals with low prior support for democracy. The full study expands the sample size and further investigates the mechanisms of the effects of independent media exposure on political beliefs, attitudes and behavior, offering broader insights into the determinants of political engagement in environments where citizens face severe constraints on political activity, leaving protests as one of the few available outlets.