The Effect of Red Scare Propaganda on U.S. Public Opinion: Evidence from the Newspapers of William Randolph Hearst

Could anti-redistributive sentiment have long-run roots in Red Scare-era propaganda? In the 1930s and 40s, the media mogul William Randolph Hearst espoused vehement anti-communist rhetoric in his newspapers. Fears of socialism went head-to-head with FDR’s New Deal, the first wide-scale federal spending program. Using variation in newspaper penetration across U.S. counties, I show that an increase of 10 percentage points in Hearst circulation per capita decreased support for FDR by 2.1 percentage points. I also show evidence that these effects are long run, decreasing support for public healthcare and welfare programs through the late twentieth century.