Persuasive Media Information and Voting Behavior Demographics as Moderators of Online Effects

This study aims at determining if online information may affect, in a meaningful way, the voting decisions of media audience. Three regression models were built to establish the level to which online channels of communication can create a significant impact on the behavioral decisions of the audience responding to electoral campaigns. All three models are with moderated effect. The goal of this research is to examine how such demographics as age, income, and level of education are more likely to moderate the ways online persuasive media information is being consumed by target voters. By analyzing these moderated relationships the applicability of a communication theory, the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), which focuses on the way persuasive communication is consumed, is actually being tested in the context of electoral campaigns