Remixing current events and politics: does political
satire spark negativity among citizens?
Christian Manuputty
10616756
Master’s thesis
Political Communication & Journalism
Graduate School of Communication
University of Amsterdam
Supervisor: S. Geers
Abstract: This study investigated through an experimental design (N = 117) the potential negative effect of exposure to Dutch political satire on attitudes that will be formed towards a politician who is covered by the satirical content. The Dutch satire in this case is the show Zondag met Lubach. Furthermore, the mediating role of perceived funniness of the political satire was also researched in this study. In addition, the moderating role of political
knowledge in the relation between exposure to political satire and perceived funniness of the political satire was also examined in this study. There was no evidence for a significant negative effect of political satire on political attitudes. However, this study did find significant results when testing for the control variables political knowledge and news consumption of Dutch news platform Nu.nl and newspaper NRC.
Introduction
It is possibly one of the most popular satirical platforms of the Dutch media
landscape and the reach of this show does not stop at the Dutch border. Worldwide virals made the show visible in the international media landscape: Arjen Lubach and his team made it happen with their show Zondag met Lubach. What kind of a influence does a Dutch satirical show as Zondag met Lubach have? For instance, Lubach and his team achieved that trade agreement TTIP between the European Union and the United States was more present on the agenda. As a result, the show accomplished that Minister of Foreign Affairs Lilianne Ploumen attended as a guest in an episode to ensure that the trade deal would not have any negative effects on the Netherlands (NU.nl, 2016). Zondag met Lubach also played a significant role in society by setting the agenda concerning this specific trade agreement. For instance, individuals showed better understanding on the issue of TTIP after being exposed to an episode of Zondag met Lubach. The satire show also had an effect on the agenda of individuals, the public and politics (Boukes, 2018). Scoring worldwide virals is also something that Zondag met Lubach accomplished throughout the years. Examples of going viral worldwide are the videos Netherlands Second (Algemeen Dagblad, 2018) and a satirical item on gun control in the United States (Het Parool, 2018). A show as Zondag met Lubach can be seen as political satire. This phenomenon can affect concepts as attitudes towards a politician. For instance, Guggenheim, Kwak and Campbell (2011) described how this type of entertainment can cause negative opinions of society towards politicians. Therefore, it is interesting to get better insights in this topic.
Especially, during elections, having knowledge on political satire as politician, policy worker or campaigner, can be beneficial. However, existing literature on the effects of political satire is mostly American-focused but does Zondag met Lubach have the same effect as a satirical show from the US, as for instance, The Daily Show? Therefore, the first
political attitudes. There is evidence that perceived funniness of the political satire can also play a role in the possible relation between political satire and political attitudes (Boukes, Boomgaarden, Moorman & De Vreese, 2015). That is why the second aim of this study is to examine a potential mediating role of perceived funnines. To conclude, characteristics of viewers of political satire can also play a potential role in the possible attitudinal effects of political satire. For instance, the amount of political knowledge a citizen has, can play a role in how funny the political satire is perceived (Matthes & Rauchfleisch, 2013). Therefore, the third aim of this study will be testing whether political knowledge has a moderating effect. Thus, the research question in this thesis will be as follows:
RQ: How does political satire affect attitude towards a politician and to what extent is this mediated by perceived funniness and moderated by political knowledge?
As stated earlier, the influence of a show as Zondag met Lubach can be big in society considering the power to alter the agenda of citizens, media and politics. How to respond as a politician on the potential effects of satirical content can have its benefits during, for instance, election times. During those periods, politics will be highly present on the media agenda. This can be the case for serious newscasters but also for satire
producers. The chances of being covered by a satire show is likely for politicians. Therefore, this thesis can offer public officials, politicians and political campaign teams more insights in the influence of platforms that produce political satire.
Currently, there is a high amount of scientific research available that investigated the effects of political satire. However, most research is focused on shows that are from the United States. This is not surprising because the genre of political satire shows can be seen as an American concept. Research on shows as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are highly present in today's research. A Dutch TV show as Zondag met Lubach is highly influenced by this type of satire shows. However, the amount of research investigating the
effects of this particular Dutch show is not sufficient. Only few studies did examine the effect of a Dutch satire show as Zondag met Lubach. As a result, the amount of knowledge on the potential effects of Dutch political satire is low or at least, insufficient. Therefore, this thesis can try to fill the gap that is present in today’s scientific research.
Theoretical framework
To gain more insight in the influence of political satire on the political attitudes of a voter, concepts and theories that will be used in this thesis will be defined. Firstly, the concepts political satire, attitude towards a politician, perceived funniness and political knowledge will be described. Furthermore, theories that underlie the relationship between political satire and attitude towards a politician will also be discussed, namely the Affective Disposition Theory (ADT) and the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM).
Political satire can be seen as a subgenre of the overarching political-focused entertainment. Satire is a form of mocking human failure or other human stupidities. These actions can be criticized through humor. Therefore, this potential negative focus can cause negative attitudinal effects. Furthermore, satire can also mock actors as religion, politics, moral and social standards (Amundson, Cuddon, Duncan, Jackson, Lindsay & Sufit, 1991). Holbert (2005) devised a typology for all genres within entertainment TV and politics. This typology is based on the Affective Disposition Theory of Zillmann. This theory explains how viewers of entertainment experience this content and how this type of content has certain effects. An example of the list of typologies is situation comedy satire. Shows as The Simpsons and South Park can be defined as this type of entertainment, because subtle fragments of satire on politics are integrated in the content of this show but its fundament is different compared to a show as Saturday Night Live. The show Saturday Night Live is mainly focusing on exposing political satire. Another example of the Holbert’s typology is an entertainment talk show. Shows as Oprah and Larry King Live can be seen as this type of show because these shows offer interviews between a host and politician in an informal and
example of Holbert’s list. In this case, a show is trying to be funny without supporting a specific political party or politician. It is important to state that it is not excluded that a show will choose a specific side in a certain issue. The show Zondag met Lubach can be seen as a program that can be characterized as traditional satire. However, this is a Dutch show and the literature that will be discussed below is mainly focused on political satire from the United States. As a result, the literature on Dutch political satire, as Zondag met Lubach, is scarce. However, as described earlier, there is evidence for the power of this show to alter the agenda in the Netherlands (Boukes, 2018).
Furthermore, the Dutch context also differs from the American. Where in the US mostly two parties are competing with each other, namely the Democrats versus the
Republicans, in the Netherlands there is a multiparty system (Dit Is Amerika, 2012). It is also important to state that both countries also differ in media landscape. Hallin and Mancini (2004) described the type of media systems western countries as the Netherlands and the US have. These authors categorized the Dutch media system as the democratic corporatist system or Northern European system. This system is experiencing a shift from polarized party press to neutralism. Furthermore, the state can fund the media system. However, the media will always stay independent. The media system in the US is categorized as the liberal model or North Atlantic model. This model has as characteristic that it is mostly market-driven.
In this thesis, the effect of political satire on attitude towards a politician will be investigated. The concept attitude in this thesis is defined as is common in social sciences. Therefore, the definition that is originated in the article of Azjen and Fishbein (1975) will be used. These authors described attitude as beliefs that a human being can held. Individuals can evaluate objects, persons or certain effects in order to create an attitude towards these actors. A theory that can explain the alteration in political attitude is the Affective Disposition Theory (ADT). This theory described what kind of effect the audience of media and
entertainment will experience after exposure to certain content. ADT will have an effect on an individual’s judgements and evaluations.
ADT described how media users will follow a narrative that is created by the media and how this will affect their judgements and evaluations. In a typical narrative, the public will be exposed to a so called ‘good guy’ and a so called ‘bad guy’ that are present in a narrative created by media and entertainment producers. This process will have an effect on the attitude of the public (Zillmann & Cantor, 1976). The process of this theory also showed that viewers of satire appreciate the content more if the goal of the content is to target entities that can be seen as authorities. The definition of an authority can be very broad but it can also be applied to politicians because of their position (Becker, 2014).
Jebril, Albaek and De Vreese (2013) found that exposure to infotainment, the broader overarching concept to which political satire belongs, can have positive and negative effects. When satirical content is focused on, for instance, scandals, viewers will become more negative towards a politician. However, these authors also described that exposure to infotainment can work the other way around. Viewers that are not that interested in politics can experience positive attitudinal effects.
Rill and Cardiel (2013) described how Mitt Romney also experienced backlash among viewers of political satire, after exposure to political satire. Negative evaluations towards Romney were formed. It is important to state that the content in this study was user-generated political satire. However, Romney’s opponent Barack Obama could count on positive evaluations. An explanation can be the fact that Obama was already in office during the data collection and during this period he was popular in the United States. It is also possible Romney will experience positive evaluations. Jones, Brewer and Young (2016) researched attitudes towards Romney in combination with the effect of political satire. These authors showed that The Daily Show can cause positive political attitudes. However, a serious news segment as ABC World News can spark negativity towards Romney.
An American satire TV show as The Daily Show will affect an attitude towards politicians negatively, but this is not the case for an objective news show as CBS News according to Baumgartner and Morris (2006). These authors described how attitudes
being exposed to political satire. Guggenheim et al., (2011) too described how political satire in the United States can cause negative public opinions towards politicians because of the mocking standpoint that satire can have.
Furthermore, even if a satirical TV show makes sure that the main goal of the content is a mocking form of entertainment, still attitude towards politicians as US presidential
candidates and public officials can be affected negatively (Baumgartner, 2013). The process of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) can provide an explanation in the negative
attitudinal effects. Petty and Cacioppo (1986) described how attitudes can be affected by the route that information processing will take. ELM has two routes: the central route and the peripheral route. An individual has to put a lot of effort in processing information if the central route is taken. Unconscious processes play a substantial role if the peripheral route is taken. Furthermore, political satire can be seen as a form of entertainment. As stated before, a political satire show as Zondag met Lubach has a main goal to be funny and thus, so it can be concluded that this genre is a form of entertainment. That is why this form of
entertainment can be linked to ELM. A viewer’s route that is peripheral has a higher chance on agreeing with the political satire content. Thus, political attitudes can be affected
negatively even if it is known that the content is brought as a joke as is concluded by Baumgartner (2013). Research also told us that political satire can have negative attitudinal effects outside of the US. For instance, Lee (2014) showed that (online) political satire affects political attitudes from Hong Kong’s young adults negatively. The satire in this article was user-generated content. In conclusion, political satire sparks negativity with regard to political attitudes. Therefore, the first hypothesis in this thesis will be as follows:
H1: Exposure to political satire affects attitude towards a politician negatively.
Boukes et al. (2015) found that content which is meant as satirical can negatively affect attitude towards politicians. However, perceived funniness can weaken this effect.
Perceived funniness refers to how funny voters think political satire is. Therefore, perceived funniness can have a mediating effect on the relation between political satire and attitude towards a politician. LaMarre and Walther (2013) described how different levels of laughter can have an effect on the political attitudes that will be shaped after exposure to political satire. Furthermore, humorous messages are proven to be more persuasive compared to messages that are serious. It can be stated that voters that will find a message funny, are less scrutinizing this message and are automatically persuaded easier compared to voters that do not find the same specific message funny (Nabi, Moyer-Gusé & Byrne, 2007). This process can be linked to the theory of the ELM. Content that is experienced as funny is processed through the peripheral route in ELM, as described earlier. Therefore, persuasion will be easier because there is no room for counterarguing that mostly is a result of
processing messages through the central route in ELM. In conclusion, the second hypothesis will be as follows:
H2: The effect of political satire on attitude towards a politician is mediated by perceived funniness, in that (a) exposure to political satire increases perceived funniness and (b) perceived funniness leads to a negative attitude towards a politician.
Voters that do not possess a sufficient amount of knowledge on politics are more likely to encounter larger negative effects on political attitudes after being exposed to soft news, the overarching genre to which political satire belongs, compared to citizens that are politically engaged (Baum, 2003; Young, 2005; Young, 2006). Political engagement also includes political knowledge. Therefore, the influence of political knowledge too is
investigated in this study as a moderating variable.
Matthes and Rachfleisch (2013) described how the amount of political knowledge an individual has can affect the formed attitudes towards a politician. The political parody in their study had a deeper layer. The ‘explicit’ message from this type of entertainment is
meant as being funny but it might be possible that there is an ‘implicit’ message which needs a sufficient amount of knowledge to understand. Voters that are known as less
knowledgeable on politics will experience political parody as just funny but they will miss out on the deeper understanding. This will result in a lower perceived funniness among these voters. There is a chance that their political attitudes will not be altered negatively or at least the attitudinal effects will be less strong for this group. Having more political knowledge will cause stronger negative attitudes towards a politician. To conclude, the next and final hypothesis will be:
H3: The positive relationship between political satire and perceived funniness is stronger for voters who have more political knowledge.
The earlier described hypotheses will lead to the following conceptual model:
Figure 1: Conceptual model
Method
Sample and experimental design. Participants were recruited through an online experiment that was compelled between 4 December 2018 and 17 December 2018. The participants were recruited through a convenience sample. Recruitment was compelled through social media channels, personal network in university, colleagues and
Communication Science groups via Facebook. 117 participants (N = 117) were included in Political satire Perceived funniness Attitude towards a politician Political knowledge
the experiment (51 men and 64 women). 2 participants did not want to share their gender or filled out something else.An online survey-experiment (post-test only) was conducted with two conditions, namely the experimental condition with a video from Zondag met Lubach and the control condition with a video from the NOS Journaal. After being exposed to the
stimulus material, all participants filled out the same survey. Therefore, a 1*2-between-subjects-design was applicable.
Stimulus material. Participants were randomly and equally assigned to two conditions, namely a political satire condition and a traditional news condition. Participants were asked to watch a video about Dutch politician Henk Krol. However, the type of coverage differs per condition. The political satire condition showed a way of mocking Krol versus a traditional news condition which covered Krol in a more objective way. The traditional news condition can be seen as the control condition.
Participants who were assigned to the control condition were exposed to a news segment of public broadcaster NOS. This media outlet can be seen as one of the most popular and trusted newscasters in the Netherlands (Matsa, 2018). The NOS fragment consisted of an interview that took place in the house of Dutch parliament with Henk Krol’s reaction to the future plans of the current government. Krol was interviewed by a NOS journalist who is questioning the statements the political leader is making. Krol is furious about the plans of the coalition. According to him, Dutch citizens older than 50 years will be affected negatively by the new plans with regard to their buying power. However, the reporter is critically encountering Krol’s statements. As a result of this, it seems that the 50PLUS frontman is becoming angrier. During the entire interview, only Henk Krol is visible. The fragment has a length of approximately one and a half minute and was aired originally on 14 October 2017.
Participants of the political satire condition were exposed to a video that was originated in an episode of the Dutch show Zondag met Lubach. Host Arjen Lubach is covering the earlier described NOS interview in an episode that is aired in season 7. Parts of
the NOS news segment, aired originally on 14 October 2017, were included in the Zondag met Lubach video. Host Lubach is mocking Krol’s reaction in the interview. The host is trying to point out that Krol’s statements are false and not based on a factual fundament. During the video, Lubach is constantly pausing the interview to state satirical comments towards Krol. Therefore, during some parts the participant will see Henk Krol and during other parts of the video, participants will see Arjen Lubach mocking the politician. Although Zondag met Lubach covered the same video as the control condition partly, the main focus of both videos differed. The NOS Journaal focused mainly on the issue of buying power under Dutch
citizens older than 50 years. The experimental condition with the Zondag met Lubach video focused more on Henk Krol’s statements in general. To conclude, the Zondag met Lubach video also has a length of approximately one and a half minute and aired originally on 15 October 2017.
Manipulation checks. To check for whether the videos were perceived as intended, a manipulation check was conducted. Respondents were asked to answer control questions on (a) who the political leader in the video was, (b) the issue that is covered in the video and (c) from which media organization the item was originated. Cross-tabulation showed that two respondents provided insufficient answers. Therefore, these respondents were deleted from the data. All other respondents did give a correct answer to the open questions and thus, these respondents were not deleted.
Furthermore, the item that measured the mediator perceived funniness was also used as a manipulation check. This variable was measured as is done in the study by Boukes et al. (2015). Perceived funniness was measured on an interval scale (M = 7.36, SD = 1.60). Participants were able to state to what extent they thought the video was funny on a scale from not funny (1) to funny (10).
To check for whether the videos were perceived as intended, an independent samples t-test was conducted. The experimental condition (M = 8.22, SD = 2.02) perceived
the video as funnier compared to the control condition (M = 6.51, SD = 2.24). The difference between both conditions was significant t(114.018) = -4.10, p < 0.001, CI = [-2.54, -0.90].
Dependent Variable. The dependent variable, attitude towards a politician, was measured as was done by Baumgartner and Morris (2006). Participants responded to seven statements through a seven-point Likert-scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). Participants were asked to what extent they agreed with the following items: a) this politician really cares about people like me, (b) this politician is honest, (c) this politician is inspiring, (d) this politician is not knowledgeable, (e) this politician is decisive, (f) this politician shows strong leadership and (g) this politician is not competent. The items that measured to what extent participants agreed on that the politician is not knowledgeable and not competent were reversed in SPSS. These statements were formulated negatively. However, the other statements were formulated positively. Therefore, the negative items were recoded.
A principal component analysis (PCA) showed that 4 and 3 items formed a single uni-dimensional scale: 2 components had an eigenvalue above 1 (eigenvalue = 3.27 and eigenvalue = 1.11) and there is a clear point of inflexion after these components in the scree plot. The items (a) this politician really cares about people like me, (b) this politician is honest, (c) this politician is inspiring and (d) this politician is not competent correlate positively with the first component, (a) this politician really cares about people me has the strongest association (factor loading = 0.80). The reliability of the scale is good, = 0.78. Therefore, it appears this scale measures attitude towards the social skills of a politician (M = 3.11, SD = 1.14).
The items (e) the politician is not knowledgeable, (f) this politician is decisive and (g) this politician shows strong leadership, correlate positively with the second component. The final item about strong leadership has the strongest association (factor loading = 0.87). The reliability of the scale is good, = 0.79. Therefore, it appears this scale measures attitude towards the professional skills of a politician (M = 4.00, SD = 1.16).
However, a total attitudinal scale was also computed that included all items that measured attitude towards a politician (M = 3.49, SD = 1.14). The reliability of the scale is good, = 0.81.
Mediator. Perceived funniness was expected to be a mediator between exposure to political satire and attitude towards a politician. This variable was measured as is done in the study by Boukes et al. (2015). Perceived funniness was measured on an interval scale (M = 7.36, SD = 1.60). Participants were able to state to what extent they thought the video was funny on a scale from not funny (1) to funny (10).
Moderator. Political knowledge was expected to moderate the relation of exposure to political satire and perceived funniness. This moderator was measured with a scale as is done by Hendriks Vettehen, Hagemann and Van Snippenburg (2004). However, the four questions these authors used are outdated. Therefore, these questions were adjusted to suit the present situation. Furthermore, three additional items were added to measure the
moderator political knowledge. These additional items measured political knowledge on current events in the Netherlands. Participants were able to answer through multiple-choice which included five options. The final option was always ‘I do not know’. The complete list of items that measured political knowledge are listed in the appendix.In addition, the item that measured to which party Minister of Finance, Wopke Hoekstra, belongs, was deleted from the data as a result of a flaw in the multiple-choice answering options. The correct option was given twice.
Furthermore, the items that measured political knowledge included a multiple-choice answering scale. However, in order to do an analysis in SPSS, these items were recoded to dichotomous items. Every item that measured political knowledge included four incorrect answering options and one correct. The incorrect answering options were recoded to 0. The correct answering option was recoded to 1. After recoding, it was possible to create a new
political knowledge scale (M = 3.90, SD = 1.60). To conclude, the reliability of the scale is good, = 0.68.
Demographics. Participants were asked to answer questions about their gender, age and education level. Concerning gender (M = 1.58, SD = 0.53), participants were able to answer with male (a), female (b), other (c) or not willing to share (d). Age (M = 39.03, SD = 15.86) was measured through open answering. Education level (M = 7.50, SD = 1.47) was measured through the different levels of education that are common in the Netherlands. Participants were able to answer with primary school (a), high school (b), vocational secondary education (c), higher professional education (d) or academic education (e).
Political interest. Political interest (M = 5.06, SD = 1.47) was measured through items that indicated to what extent the participant is interested in politics. This item was measured through a seven-point scale from not interested (1) to very interested (7).
Political spectrum. Participants were asked to share where they would place themselves in the political spectrum. This spectrum includes a scale from left to right. Furthermore, a center point was also included. The position in the political spectrum (M = 4.49, SD = 2.50) was measured through a seven-point scale from left (1) to right (7). Participants were also able to answer with center (4).
News consumption. Participants were able to give multiple answers with regard to the channels they use for news consumption. News consumption can express itself in the usage of online, app, tv, radio and print. NOS (M = 3.85, SD = 1.23), RTL (M = 2.69, SD = 1.18), Zondag met Lubach (M = 2.96, SD = 1.09), Nu.nl (M = 2.71, SD = 1.36), Telegraaf (M = 1.64, SD = 0.97), Algemeen Dagblad (including the regional titles) (M = 2.01, SD = 1.14), NRC (M = 2.62, SD = 1.30), Volkskrant (M = 2.63, SD = 1.29) and Trouw (M = 1.84, SD =
0.98) were included in order to measure news consumption. The NOS and RTL can be seen as the biggest news platforms in the Netherlands. Furthermore, Nu.nl is one of the biggest online news channels and the newspapers that were included are the main national newspapers concerning circulation (Bakker, 2018). Participants were able to answer with never (a), less than once a week (b), sometimes (c), often (d) and almost daily (e).
However, NOS and RTL were included in a newly composed scale that measured news consumption through TV (M = 3.27, SD = 1.00). The reliability of the scale is
moderately good, = 0.56
Telegraaf, Algemeen Dagblad, Trouw, NRC and Volkskrant were included in a newly composed scale that measured news consumption through newspapers (M = 2.15, SD = 0.79). The reliability of the scale is good, = 0.73.
Issue attitude. This item made it possible to measure to what extent the participant thought the issue of the stimulus material is important to him or her (M = 4.44, SD = 1.34). Participants were asked to what extent the issue of purchasing power is important to them on a seven-point scale from not important (1) to very important (7).
Party attitude. Attitude towards Krol’s party 50PLUS was measured as well.
Participants were asked to report the chance that they will vote for this party during the next election (M = 2.44, SD = 1.33). This item was measured through a seven-point scale from not likely (1) to very likely (7).
Analysis. An independent samples t-test was conducted to test hypothesis 1. The composed attitudinal scale, which is also the dependent variable, was measured on an interval scale. The independent variable was exposure to political satire or exposure to a news segment. This variable is dichotomous. Furthermore, participants were randomly and
equally divided over the experimental and control condition. Therefore, the usage of t-test is justified.
To test hypotheses 2 and 3, a macro, PROCESS, was conducted. The second hypothesis included exposure to political satire, the composed attitudinal scale and the mediating variable perceived funniness which was measured through an item with a ten-point interval scale. Furthermore, one independent variable, one mediating variable and one dependent variable, participants that are randomly and equally assigned over the
experimental and control condition will lead to the justification of the usage of PROCESS. Also hypothesis 3 was tested by PROCESS. This final hypothesis included an independent variable which was exposure to political satire. Furthermore, the composed attitudinal scale was the dependent variable. To conclude, this hypothesis included a moderating variable which was political knowledge. Hypotheses 2 and 3 can be tested in one time by selecting model 7 in PROCESS.
Randomization check gender. An independent samples t-test was conducted for a randomization check on gender. In both conditions, namely the control condition (M = 1.66, SD = 0.55) and experimental condition (M = 1.50, SD = 0.50) slightly more women were present than men but the difference was not significant, t(114,588) = 1.66, p = 0.100, CI = [-0.03, 0.35]. Therefore, men and women were equally divided over the conditions.
Randomization check age. Cross-tabulation and chi2 were compelled for a randomization check on age. The frequencies on age are insignificant, chi2 (29) = 23.93, p = 0.733.
Therefore, all ages were equally divided over the conditions.
Randomization check education level. An independent samples t-test was conducted for a randomization check on education level. The level of education is relatively high (M = 7.36, SD = 1.22) in the control condition. This is also the case for the experimental condition
(M = 7.64, SD = 0.91). However, there is no significant difference between both conditions, t(105.320) = -1.38, p = 0.170, CI = [-0.69, 0.12]. Therefore, the level of education is equally divided over both conditions.
Results
Testing hypothesis 1. There is no significant effect of political satire on attitude towards the social skills of a politician, t(112.09) = 0.66, p = 0.511, CI = [-0.19, 0.38]. Being exposed to political satire (M = 3.12, SD = 0.71) did not have a significant negative effect on attitude towards the social skills of a politician compared to being exposed to a news
segment (M = 3.21, SD = 0.85).
Furthermore, there is no significant effect of political satire on attitude towards the professional skills of a politician, t(114.12) = -0.94, p = 0.348, CI = [-0.47, -0.17]. Being exposed to political satire (M = 3.98, SD = 0.83) did also not have a significant negative effect on attitude towards the professional skills of a politician compared to being exposed to a news segment (M = 3.83, SD = 0.92).
It is also important to test for an effect of political satire on attitude towards a politician with a scale including all items that measured attitude towards a politician. Therefore, an independent samples t-test was conducted in order to test for the effect on attitude with all seven items, t(106.66) = 0.86, p = 0.391, CI = [-0.21, 0.53]. Being exposed to political satire (M = 3.41, SD = 0.84) did not have a significant negative effect on attitude towards a politician compared to being exposed to a news segment (M = 3.57, SD = 1,15).
In conclusion, there is no evidence for a negative relationship between political satire and attitude towards a politician. Thus, hypothesis 1 was refuted.
Testing hypotheses 2 and 3. Hypotheses 2 and 3 were combined in one model (model 7) in PROCESS in order to test the hypotheses at once. As described earlier,
hypothesis 1 was refuted. Therefore, the earlier composed attitudinal scales towards the social and professional skills of a politician were not used in this analysis.
Results did not show a significant direct relationship between exposure to political satire and attitude towards a politician, if the mediator perceived funniness was not taken into account, b = -0.29, t = -1.48, p = 0.141. Furthermore, results showed a marginally significant indirect relationship between exposure to political satire and attitude towards a politician with perceived funniness as mediator, b = 0.08, t = 1.87, p = 0.064. Political satire was perceived funnier than the control condition as is confirmed in the manipulation check. However, this did not lead to a negative attitude. Therefore, hypothesis 2 was partly refuted.
Furthermore, the regression model with perceived funniness as dependent variable, exposure to political satire as independent variable and political knowledge as moderator is significant, F(3,113) = 6,93, p < 0.001. This model can therefore be used to predict
perceived funniness, but the strength of the prediction is low: 16% of the variation in
perceived funniness can be predicted on the basis of exposure to political satire and political knowledge (R2 = 0.16).
Exposure to political satire, b* = -0.21, SE = 1.98, t = 0.19, p = 0.848, 95% CI [-1.96, 2.38], did not have a significant association with perceived funniness. Furthermore, the association was weak. Political knowledge, b* = -0.07, SE = 0.19, t = -0.38, p = 0.703, 95% CI [-0.45, 0.30], also did not have a significant association with perceived funniness.
Furthermore, the association was very weak. There was no evidence for an interaction between exposure to political satire, political knowledge and perceived funniness, b* = 0.40, SE = 0.26, t = 1,52, p = 0.131, 95% CI [-0.12, 0.91]. Therefore, hypothesis 3 was refuted.
Figure 2: PROCESS model with coefficients
Additional analyses. There were no significant results for a direct negative relationship between exposure to political satire and attitude towards a politician. Therefore, multiple regressions were conducted with control variables political preference, political interest, issue attitude, party attitude and gender. Furthermore, the items that measured news
consumption were also included in the regression as control variables. In addition, the items that measured news consumption through NOS and RTL were combined in a newly
composed scale. This scale measured news consumption through TV. Combining items for a newly composed scale was also the case for the items that measured news consumption through newspapers Telegraaf, Volkskrant, NRC, Trouw and Algemeen Dagblad. The item that measured news consumption through Zondag met Lubach and Nu.nl were included separately in the analysis because these items did not show any similarities with other items.
Testing control variables demographic characteristics. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to test for the control variables political preference, political interest, issue attitude, party attitude, and gender. The regression model with attitude towards a politician as dependent variable and the earlier described control variables is significant, F(6,110) =
Political satire Perceived funniness Attitude towards a politician Political knowledge 0.08 0.21 -0.07 -0.29
2,56, p = 0.023. The regression model can therefore be used to analyze differences in demographic characteristics. Furthermore, the strength of the prediction is weak: 12% of the variation in attitude towards a politician can be predicted on the basis of the control variables (R2 = 0.12).Political knowledge, b* = 0.34, SE = 0.46, t = 2.65, p = 0.007, 95% CI [2.17, -0.35], showed a weak significant association with attitude towards a politician. For each additional point on the scale of political knowledge, which ran from 0 to 6, the average attitude towards a politician decreased by 0.34. For this effect other independent variables were assumed to be held constant.
Table 1
Regression model with demographic characteristics
B SE B β t p (Constant) 2.22 1.46 1.52 0.132 Gender 0.12 0.18 0.06 0.68 0.500 Political interest 0.04 0.08 0.06 0.47 0.673 Political spectrum 0.05 0.04 0.12 1.29 0.201 Party attitude 0.01 0.02 0.05 0.56 0.576 Issue attitude 0.02 0.07 0.02 0.24 0.814 Political knowledge* -1.26 0.46 -0.34 -2.65 0.007 Note: N = 117 * p < 0.001
Testing demographic characteristics and all seperate news consumption items. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to test for the control variables political preference, political interest, issue attitude, party attitude, gender and all seperate news consumption variables. The regression model with attitude towards a politician as dependent variable and the earlier described control variables was significant, F(15,101) = 2.29, p = 0.008. The regression model can therefore be used to analyze differences in demographic
characteristics. Furthermore, the strength of the prediction is weak: 25% of the variation in attitude towards a politician can be predicted on the basis of the control variables (R2 = 0.25). Political knowledge, b* = -0.40, SE = 0.08, t = -3.00, p = 0.003, 95% CI [-0.42, -0.09],
showed a moderate significant association with attitude towards a politician. For each additional point on the scale of political knowledge, which ran from 0 to 6, the average attitude towards a politician decreased by 0.40. News consumption through Nu.nl, b* = 0.29, SE = 0.07, t = 3.11, p = 0.002, 95% CI [0.08, 0.32], showed a weak significant association with attitude towards a politician. For each additional point on the scale of news consumption through Nu.nl, which ran from 0 (never) to 4 (almost daily), the average attitude towards a politician increased by 0.29. Lastly, NRC, b* = -0.26, SE = 0.10, t = -2.13, p = 0.036, 95% CI [-0.40, -0.01], showed a weak significant association with attitude towards a politician. For each additional point on the scale of news consumption through NRC, which ran from 0 (never) to 4 (almost daily), the average attitude towards a politician decreased by 0.26. For all these effects other independent variables were assumed to be held constant.
Table 2
Regression model with demographic characteristics and seperate news consumption items
B SE B β t p (Constant) 0.46 1.58 0.29 0.773 Gender 0.16 0.18 0.08 0.88 0.383 Political interest 0.06 0.09 0.09 0.71 0.478 Political spectrum 0.10 0.04 0.25 2.34 0.021 Party attitude 0.00 0.02 -0.01 -0.14 0.888 Issue attitude 0.00 0.07 0.00 0.05 0.963 Political knowledge* -0.25 0.08 -0.40 -3.00 0.003
News consumption NOS 0.13 0.10 0.15 1.29 0.200
News consumption RTL -0.10 0.09 -0.12 -1.13 0.261
News consumption ZML 0.05 0.09 0.06 0.55 0.583
News consumption Nu.nl* 0.21 0.07 0.29 3.11 0.002
News consumption Telegraaf -0.03 0.12 -0.02 -0.22 0.825
News consumption AD -0.16 0.11 -0.18 -1.48 0.142
News consumption Volkskrant 0.02 0.10 0.03 0.23 0.817 News consumption NRC* -0.20 0.10 -0.26 -2.13 0.036
News consumption Trouw 0.17 0.13 0.17 1.34 0.184
Note: N = 117 * p < 0.001
Testing demographic characteristics and composed news consumption scales. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to test for the control variables political preference, political interest, issue attitude, party attitude, gender, news consumption through Zondag met Lubach, Nu.nl, TV and newspapers. The regression model with attitude towards a politician as dependent variable and the earlier described control variables was significant, F(10,106) = 2.86, p = 0.003. The regression model can therefore be used to analyze differences in demographic characteristics. Furthermore, the strength of the prediction was weak: 21% of the variation in attitude towards a politician can be predicted on the basis of the control variables (R2 = 0.21). Political knowledge, b* = -0.33, SE = 0.08, t = -2.70, p = 0.008, 95% CI [-0.36, -0.05], showed a weak significant association with attitude towards a
politician. For each additional point on the scale of political knowledge, which ran from 0 to 6, the average attitude towards a politician decreased by 0.33. News consumption through Nu.nl, b* = 0.27, SE = 0.07, t = 3.02, p = 0.003, 95% CI [0.07, 0.33], showed a weak significant association with attitude towards a politician. For each additional point on the scale of news consumption through Nu.nl, which ran from 0 (never) to 4 (almost daily), the average attitude towards a politician increased by 0.27. For all these effects other
independent variables were assumed to be held constant.
Table 3
Regression model with demographic characteristics and composed news consumption scales B SE B β t p (Constant) 1.86 1.42 1.31 0.193 Gender 0.14 0.17 0.07 0.79 0.433 Political interest 0.06 0.08 0.09 0.75 0.454 Political spectrum 0.05 0.04 0.14 1.49 0.139 Party attitude 0.00 0.02 0.01 0.15 0.883 Issue attitude 0.00 0.07 0.00 -0.03 0.974 Political knowledge* -0.21 0.08 -0.33 -2.70 0.008
News consumption Nu.nl* 0.20 0.07 0.27 3.02 0.003
News consumption ZML 0.06 0.09 0.07 0.71 0.482
News consumption TV 0.02 0.11 0.02 0.20 0.846
News consumption newspapers -0.22 0.14 -0.18 -1.62 0.109
Note: N = 117 * p < 0.001
Discussion
This thesis investigated in the first place the effects of Zondag met Lubach on
attitude towards a politician that is covered by this popular Dutch TV show. Furthermore, the mediating role of perceived funniness of the political satire was also investigated in this
thesis. The moderating role of political knowledge in the relation between exposure to political satire and perceived funniness was also investigated in this thesis.
There is no evidence for a direct negative effect of exposure to political satire on attitude towards a politician. Participants that were included in the experiment of this thesis did not show a change in their political attitudes regarding a political leader. The expectation that exposure to political satire affects attitude towards a politician negatively can be refuted. This is contradictory with existing literature. Previous studies showed evidence for a negative relationship between political satire and political attitudes. For instance, American
presidential candidate Mitt Romney experienced backlash after being covered in satirical content. US citizens became negative in their attitudes towards this specific politician after being exposed to American political satire (Rill and Cardiel, 2013). Furthermore, literature provided evidence for negatively formed attitudes in the US after being exposed to political satire (Baumgartner & Morris, 2006; Guggenheim et al., 2011). It can be hard to alter political towards a political, as Henk Krol, because of his long-during presence in Dutch politics. Citizens might already have a certain opinion about this politician. Therefore, this opinion will not be altered just through satire.
Furthermore, an explanation for not finding any evidence could be the focus of this present study on the Netherlands instead of the American focus of existing literature. The Dutch focus of this thesis could be seen as a strength because of its distinction in
comparison to other American-focused studies that also examined attitudinal effects caused by political satire. Both countries differ regarding the political system. Democrats and
Republicans are the most common parties in the US. However, a multiparty system is present in the Netherlands. The focus in the Netherlands can be more divided because of the bigger amount of present parties in the Dutch political landscape. As a result, who is in the center of attention of the media can differ every week. As described by Van Hoof, Jacobi, Ruigrok, Van Atteveldt (2014), the diverse focus of media is based on the strength of parties themselves. These authors showed that normally, coalition parties are covered more by the
state that the Dutch political system has four parties in the coalition and multiple parties in the opposition. Thus, the focus of media is scattered because of this diverse political landscape. This is less likely the case in the US because the earlier described presence of mostly Democrats and Republicans. Another explanation for not finding evidence could be the differences in media systems between the Netherlands and the US. As described by Hallin and Mancini (2004), the Dutch media system can be categorized as democratic
corporatist system or Northern European system in which there is a shift from polarized party press to neutralism. The media system can be funded by the state, but media platforms do preserve an independent objective position. The American system can be categorized as liberal model or North Atlantic model with a market-driven orientation. Because of the more commercial focus in US, it might be possible that entertainment producers have a tendency to be more critical or harsh towards politicians. Therefore, this could mean that the satire has a more negative tone compared to its Dutch counterparts. These differences in tone could already cause a higher probability in negative attitudinal effects.
It was expected that a potential negative relationship between exposure to political satire and an attitude towards a politician would be mediated by perceived funniness. This study showed that the experimental condition was experienced as funnier by the participants of the experimental condition compared to the participants that were exposed to the control condition. The control condition included a serious news segment. As a result, the second hypothesis of this thesis is confirmed partly. Political satire did lead to an increase of perceived funniness. Therefore, the purpose of political satire is fulfilled, namely creating content as goal to entertain the public without picking sides in the political landscape (Holbert, 2005). Evidence for a higher perceived funniness after being exposed to political satire compared to exposure to an objective news segment is partly in line with previous studies that investigated the effects of political satire. Existing literature showed that a negative relationship between political satire and political attitudes was moderated by the extent of how funny a citizen thought the political satire was (Boukes et al., 2015; Nabi et al., 2007). However, a higher perceived funniness of the satirical content did not lead to a
negative attitude towards a politician in this present study. As described earlier in this study, political satire can lead to easier persuasion because of the peripheral route of the ELM model. However, it could be possible that this route is not taken in the experimental condition of this study. The satire in this study was mostly focussed on Henk Krol. It could be possible that participants did show more effort in order to process the experimental video because of the statements Krol is making. Therefore, the central route was taken which eventually, did not lead to any alterations in attitude.
Additional analyses on demographic characteristics and news consumption were conducted in order to control for why there was no significant effect in the relationship between political satire and attitude towards a politician. The control variables political knowledge and news consumption through Nu.nl and NRC did show a significant result. Therefore, the amount of political knowledge and news consumption through news platform Nu.nl and NRC could spark any differences in possible effects in political attitudes. Of all included news platforms, Nu.nl has a main focus on online in comparison with other news platforms that were taken into account in this study. The other platforms are also present in the TV or print media landscape. Nu.nl is experimenting with algorithms which makes it possible that a visitor of the website only will see news topics that he or she is interested in as is done by, for instance, Facebook (Villamedia, 2017). However, innovations as smart algorithms lead to a phenomenon which is called the filter bubble. Here, news consumers will only see news content that is related to their specific wishes. As a result, these news consumers will not see other ‘non-interesting’ news topics or deviant opinions (Nagulendra & Vassileva, 2014). This could explain the significant difference of news consumers of Nu.nl. The Nu.nl visitors are more receptive for filter bubbles. Thus, their characteristics might be different compared to the other news platforms that are investigated in this study.
Furthermore, NRC can be seen as a quality newspaper. Telegraaf can be seen as a popular newspaper as is described by Boukes and Vliegenthart (2017). These authors showed how these different newspapers handle different values in order to cover certain topics.
newspapers can differ in their demographic which could be an explanation for the significant results.
The control variable political knowledge also did show a significant result individually. This means that political knowledge can be a predictor of negative attitudinal effects of political satire. However, the hypothesis about the moderating role of political knowledge in the relation between exposure to political satire and perceived funniness was refuted. An explanation for this could be the flaw in the selection of the stimulus material. The control condition was also perceived as funny and this could lead to no interaction between knowledge, satire and perceived funniness.
Limitations. This thesis was dependent on existing videos. Also, the politician that was covered in both conditions was Henk Krol, leader of political party 50PLUS. It is possible that participants that completed the experiment already had a certain attitude towards this
politician. Krol is an established name in Dutch politics. Therefore, an altering in attitude can be difficult. In addition, the experimental condition was more focused on Henk Krol.
However, the control condition focused more on economic topics instead of Henk Krol. Therefore, the experimental and control condition videos can differ too much in focus on politician and the discussed topic. Thus, the internal validity of this study is questionable. There was a significant difference in perceived funniness regarding the control and experimental condition. However, regarding the means of both conditions, it can be concluded that the control condition was also perceived as funny. This is questionable because the purpose of this condition was to be perceived as objective. Thus, this condition should be not funny at all. Therefore, for future research it is important to strictly select the content for the control condition if an experiment will be conducted. Because of the
probability that Dutch voters already have a certain attitude towards this politician, in future research it might be better to focus on a less well-known politicians and to conduct a pre-test. In addition, the experiment was fielded through an online survey. Participants had to watch the stimulus material in a controlled situation. Normally, if a participant would watch a
show as Zondag met Lubach, this would probably happen at home or in a social related situation. If the video is watched because of the conducted experiment, the feeling of the setting can be forced and not natural. Therefore, the ecological validity of this study is questionable. To overcome this, it can be an idea to be more critical in conducting an experiment in a somewhat natural environment.
Furthermore, participants of the conducted experiment in this study were recruited through a convenience sample. Thus, the results of this thesis can give insights on the demographic and political characteristics of the participants. However, it is difficult to generalize certain evidence of this study to the complete Dutch population because of the limited reach of the recruitment of the experiment. Therefore, the external validity of this study is questionable.
Although numerous flaws are described, this thesis did find significant differences when testing for the characteristics political knowledge and news consumption through Nu.nl and NRC. Therefore, the findings of this study can be used as a fundament in future
research in order to receive more knowledge on the potential political attitudinal effects in the Netherlands. Arjen Lubach, brace yourself.
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Items online experiment on political knowledge
Knowledge on Dutch political system
Which political parties are part of the coalition in the Dutch Lower Chamber of Parliament at the moment?
A. VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie B. VVD, CDA, ChristenUnie and Groenlinks C. VVD, PvdA, CDA and PVV
D. PvdA, Groenlinks, D66 and CDA E. I do not know
To which political party does current Minister of Finance, Wopke Hoekstra, belong at the moment?* A. D66 B. CDA C. ChristenUnie D. VVD E. I do not know *Deleted from the data.
How many seats does the Dutch Lower Chamber of Parliament have? A. 50
B. 100 C. 150 D. 200
E. I do not know
A. Khadija Arib
B. Anouchka van Miltenburg C. Mark Rutte
D. Gerdi Verbeet E. I do not know
Knowledge on current events
With regard to which social welfare policy did cabinet, employees and employers fail to come to an agreement? A. Pension plan B. Dismissal arrangement C. Unemployment law D. Sickness law E. I do not know
With regard to which hospital did Bruno Bruins, current Minister of Medical Care, fail to keep the emergency room open?
A. Gelderse Vallei Hospital Ede B. Slotervaart Hospital Amsterdam C. MC IJsselmeer Hospital Lelystad D. Amsterdam UMC
E. I do not know
In what way were protesters from Friesland that caused a blockage on highway A7 to stop Kick Out Black Pete protesters sentenced by the judge?
A. A community service B. A prison sentence C. A fine
