Message Received? Experimental Findings on How Messages about Corruption Shape Perceptions

Most anticorruption programmes include an awareness-raising element that propagates messages about anticorruption. With little research done on the topic, it is unclear how these messages influence beliefs about corruption and anticorruption. Using data from a survey experiment conducted in Jakarta, this study tests what influence four messages have on various perceptions. The results suggest that awareness-raising efforts may backfire. Regardless of tone or content, all messages tested heightened worries about corruption’s ill effects, depressed pride in the government’s anticorruption efforts, and reduced the belief that ordinary people can easily participate in a civic-led anticorruption movement.