(De-)Radicalizing the Radical Right with Slanted News on Immigration

Christian Koch and Jean-Robert Tyran

No 12659, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: Radical Right (RR) political parties have become increasingly radicalized on immigration across many developed countries. We study whether exposure to slanted (i.e., one-sided) news shifts policy views of RR voters on immigration in Austria. In an online experiment, participants received slanted news about the effects of immigration on the welfare state. We find that anti-immigration news further radicalizes RR voters by reinforcing extreme policy views, while slanted pro-immigration news has no de-radicalizing effect. Surprisingly, balanced news — presenting both sides — reduces radicalization. We show that balanced news coverage increases trust, thereby increasing RR voters’ receptiveness to opposing viewpoints.

Keywords: radical right voters; fiscal impact of immigration; anti-immigration views; trust in news media; online experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C90 D72 F22 H30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp, nep-mig and nep-soc
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12659

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