When Do Private Actors Engage in Censorship? Evidence From a Correspondence Experiment with Russian Private Media Firms

Bibliographic Data

ID7677323
AuthorsQuintin H Beazer, Quintin Beazer (Florida State University), Charles Crabtree (0000-0001-5144-8671, Dartmouth College, corresponding author), Christopher J Fari (0000-0001-9837-186X, University of Michigan), Holger L Kern, Holger Kern (Florida State University)
Year2022
Volume52
Issue4
Pages1790-1809
Publication date2022-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-1234 • E-ISSN: 1469-2112
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0007123421000351
OpenAlexW3204892623
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited44

In authoritarian regimes, repression encourages private actors to censor not only themselves, but also other private actors—a behavior we call “regime-induced private censorship.” We present the results of a correspondence experiment conducted in Russia that investigates the censorship behavior of private media firms. We find that such firms censor third-party advertisements that include anti-regime language, calls for political or non-political collective action, or both. Our results demonstrate the significance of other types of censorship besides state censorship in an important authoritarian regime and contribute to the rapidly growing literature on authoritarian information control

Authoritarianism · Censorship · Democracy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science · Corruption and Economic Development · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Media Influence and Politics

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