The Relationship Between Political Entertainment Media Use and Political Efficacy: A Comparative Study in 18 Countries

Abstract

Political entertainment programs have gained worldwide popularity, prompting research on their effects. One area of interest has been whether this media programming has an impact upon political efficacy. However, existing literature has only examined the impact of a limited number of programs, has failed to consider the simultaneous influence of different genres, and has focused primarily on the US. To address these limitations, we conducted a comparative survey in 18 democracies in 2022, with a sample size of N = 26,000. The findings revealed that viewers of political talk shows exhibited higher levels of both external and internal political efficacy in most countries. Additionally, frequent exposure to political comedy news or satire was positively related to internal political efficacy in certain countries. Finally, the consumption of fictional political dramas was also linked to political efficacy, but only in a few countries.