From viewers to voters: Tracing Fox News’ impact on American democracy
研究了2000至2020年福克斯新闻频道如何通过改变频道位置等外生因素，使观众意识形态右转，并帮助共和党在各级选举中增加至少0.5个百分点的得票率。
This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the effect of Fox News Channel (FNC) on the mass public’s political preferences and voting behavior in the United States from 2000 to 2020. We show that FNC has shifted the ideology and partisan identity of Americans rightward. This shift has helped Republican candidates in elections across levels of U.S. government over the past decade. Our estimates suggests that an increase of 0.05 rating points in Fox News viewership, induced by exogenous changes in channel placement, has increased Republican vote shares by at least 0.5 percentage points in recent presidential, Senate, House, and gubernatorial elections. Our findings have broad implications for political behavior, elections, and the political process in the United States. • Fox News viewership shifted American ideology and party identity rightward. • A 0.05 rise in Fox ratings increased Republican vote shares by 0.5% in elections. • Fox News influenced presidential, Senate, House, and gubernatorial races.