5 ms·

Honestly has anyone ever been swayed by a political ad? I wonder if this is something both the left and the right freak out way too much about. I’m just not con

Honestly has anyone ever been swayed by a political ad? I wonder if this is something both the left and the right freak out way too much about. I’m just not convinced people’s political opinions are that malleable. Also, I do believe in the power of ads otherwise. But I wonder if politics is for most people, a little different, a little more tribal, like sports fandom.

mbg721 4y ago
The conventional wisdom is that political ads don't change people's minds about who to vote for, but they do change people's minds about whether to bother voting (or voting for a major party and not a throwaway third-party).
- bayareabadboy 4y ago
  I wonder if it’s a self fulfilling prophecy to some extent. Like big money follows the tailwinds. Republican enthusiasm is high right now, maybe big democrat money isn’t being spent this cycle because of that. Idk, I have absolutely no data to back this up.
  - mbg721 4y ago
    This cycle is a little different from other recent ones, though. Democrats are in charge of the White House, both houses of Congress, big media, big business (everything except the Supreme Court), and people's lives are still getting worse in ways they can't ignore. Money can buy messaging, but I don't think the truly-undecided public are buying it.
    - usrn 4y ago
      I vote independent often and had considered voting democrat a few times. The last few years have made me hope that party goes the way of the Whigs.
throw0101a 4y ago
> Honestly has anyone ever been swayed by a political ad? You may wish to 'enbiggen' your circle of friends and start associating with people on the left-hand side of the bell curve. For example, folks who take horse deworming medication for COVID: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivermectin_during_the_COVID-19_pandemic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivermectin_during_the_COVID-19... Further, modern propaganda does not try to convince ('The Russian "Firehose of Falsehood" Propaganda Model'): * https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html

mbg721 4y ago

The conventional wisdom is that political ads don't change people's minds about who to vote for, but they do change people's minds about whether to bother voting (or voting for a major party and not a throwaway third-party).

bayareabadboy 4y ago
I wonder if it’s a self fulfilling prophecy to some extent. Like big money follows the tailwinds. Republican enthusiasm is high right now, maybe big democrat money isn’t being spent this cycle because of that. Idk, I have absolutely no data to back this up.
- mbg721 4y ago
  This cycle is a little different from other recent ones, though. Democrats are in charge of the White House, both houses of Congress, big media, big business (everything except the Supreme Court), and people's lives are still getting worse in ways they can't ignore. Money can buy messaging, but I don't think the truly-undecided public are buying it.
  - usrn 4y ago
    I vote independent often and had considered voting democrat a few times. The last few years have made me hope that party goes the way of the Whigs.

throw0101a 4y ago

> Honestly has anyone ever been swayed by a political ad? You may wish to 'enbiggen' your circle of friends and start associating with people on the left-hand side of the bell curve. For example, folks who take horse deworming medication for COVID: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivermectin_during_the_COVID-19_pandemic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivermectin_during_the_COVID-19... Further, modern propaganda does not try to convince ('The Russian "Firehose of Falsehood" Propaganda Model'): * https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html