In our Migration Session, @MNDjourel will present her paper "Media Persuasion through Slanted Language: Evidence from the Coverage of Immigration" (1/5)

Can the language used by mass media to cover policy relevant issues affect readers' policy preferences? She examines this question for the case of immigration, exploiting an abrupt ban on the term "illegal immigrant" in wire content distributed to media outlets by the @AP . (2/5)

Using text data on AP dispatches and the content of a large number of US print and online outlets, she finds that after the ban articles mentioning "illegal immigrant" decline by 28% in outlets that rely on AP relative to others. (3/5)

This change in language appears to have had a tangible impact on readers' views on immigration. Following AP's ban, individuals exposed to outlets relying more heavily on AP tend to support less restrictive immigration and border security policies. (4/5)

The effect is driven by frequent readers and does not apply to views on issues other than immigration. (5/5)