(iPoster) Arise, Prisoners of Hunger! How Music Influences Propaganda's Efficacy

• In Event: Poster Session: Crime, Violence, Institutions in Comparative Politics

Abstract

Music is one of the most commonly used media for disseminating propaganda, yet our understanding of its efficacy is limited due to a lack of causal studies. In this article, we conduct a randomized experiment to investigate the causal effect of music on political ideology in China. Using "the Internationale," renowned in communist states, as the treatment, participants are randomly assigned to one of five groups: Control, Lyrics-only, Melody-only, Official version, and Rock version. We find that music amplifies the efficacy of propaganda due to its emotional resonance. Respondents resonate more with communist ideologies when listening to music than when simply reading the lyrics. Furthermore, the rock version presents a backfire effect due to its inherent ability to boost listeners' arousal and energy, mobilizing respondents to punish a government deviating from the propaganda content.

Authors

• Yuyang Pu, University of Pittsburgh

• Dongshu Liu, City University of Hong Kong

• Li Shao, Zhejiang University

• Le Bao, City University of Hong Kong