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This study examines how content-related variables – content attributes, perceived ease of use, imagery quality, vividness, transportation, prior experience, and social media influencer effect – influence empathy and donation intention in digital charity campaigns, with a focus on the moderating role of media format (static post versus short-form video). Guided by the Stimulus – Organism – Response (SOR) framework, a randomized online experiment with 592 participants compared emotional and behavioral responses to the same charitable message presented in two formats. Results show that perceived ease of use, prior experience, and vividness significantly enhance empathy, which in turn predicts donation intention. Content attributes, imagery quality, transportation, and influencer effect were not significant direct predictors. Multi-group analysis reveals a moderated mediation effect: static posts more effectively translate vividness, ease of use, and prior experience into empathy and donation intention, whereas short-form videos amplify the effects of transportation and influencer presence. These findings refine digital philanthropy theory by showing that leaner media can elicit stronger empathic responses than richer formats under certain conditions. The study highlights the need to align message design and media format with emotional processing goals to enhance empathy and prosocial engagement in influencer-driven charity campaigns.
Phan et al. (Sat,) studied this question.