Making Propaganda Sell: The Effects of Propaganda Movies

Last registered on August 09, 2022
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Making Propaganda Sell: The Effects of Propaganda Movies
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0009897
Initial registration date
August 06, 2022

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
August 09, 2022, 4:42 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
China
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Linan Yao
Affiliation
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2022-08-07
End date
2022-09-17
Keywords
Governance
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This PAP registers an online field experiment where I study the effects of propaganda movies in China.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Yao, Linan. 2022. "Making Propaganda Sell: The Effects of Propaganda Movies." AEA RCT Registry. August 09. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.9897-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
I encouragement participants to watch different movies.
Intervention Start Date
2022-08-09
Intervention End Date
2022-09-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
My study is primarily concerned with the effects of commercially successful Chinese propaganda movies on the domestic audience, especially their opinions that have implications for the survival of the regime, including nationalism, economic perception, perceived government responsiveness, regime evaluation, and willingness to protest. I identify the intent-to-treat effects by comparing the outcomes of all subjects assigned to different treatment groups. In addition, three quantities of interest, in addition to the intent-to-treat-effects, can be estimated under certain assumptions: the average treatment effects among the treatment compliers, the average treatment effects among the self-selectors, and the average treatment effects among the non-selectors who are also treatment compliers.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
I construct an index for each of my primary outcomes of interest. See the PAP for more details.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
See the PAP for more details.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
See the PAP for more details.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In this experiment, I test the effectiveness of this new breed of commercially altered propaganda movies in stabilizing the authoritarian regime.

Experimental Design Details
This PAP registers an online field experiment where I give participants free movie accounts and randomly assign them into one of three groups: a forced-exposure group where participants are instructed to watch a propaganda movie; a placebo control group where participants are instructed to watch a placebo movie; a free-choice group where participants can choose to watch either the propaganda movie or the placebo movie. I then survey their key political opinion outcomes and track their viewing history in the following month.
Randomization Method
simple randomization by a computer
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
360 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
360 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
120 individuals in each treatment group
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
See the PAP for more details.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Columbia University, Morningside campus
IRB Approval Date
2022-03-01
IRB Approval Number
AAAU0696
Analysis Plan

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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