Developed by Kate K.

This article presents research-based recommendations on the best strategies for creating impactful and persuasive content regarding Palestine, covering audience identification, fundraising, social media engagement, and effective messaging techniques. For the full analysis with references, please read the detailed report.

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Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Recommendations
  • Content Creation
  • Fundraising
• Audience Research
  • Findings
  • Social Media Statistics
• Messaging Research
  • Key Effects & Techniques
    • Identifiable Victim Effect
    • Proportion Dominance Effect
    • Confirmation Bias & Cognitive Dissonance
    • Vivid vs. Pallid Information
    • Cialdini’s Persuasive Techniques
    • Other Techniques
  • Full Report

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Introduction

This article provides a summary of research on identifying the best audience for messaging on the Palestinian genocide and persuasive messaging strategies for various content formats, including:

• Fundraising appeals
• Social media campaigns
• Petitions
• Newsletters
• Articles
• Advocacy letters
• Grant proposals

The research is summarised into recommendations for content creation, fundraising, and audience identification.

Recommendations

Content Creation

• Focus messaging on a single individual’s story or a small group.
• Use vivid imagery and emotion-provoking language.
• Align images with individual victims to elicit empathy.
• Highlight aspects of victims that relate to readers’ in-groups (e.g., cultural, political, gender).
• Clarify specific donation impacts and emphasise their effect on the overall problem.
• Avoid large numbers; use relatable comparisons (e.g., “10 out of 13” instead of “10 out of 200”).
• Connect uncomfortable information with readers’ values to mitigate dissonance.
• Use trusted experts and accreditation to build credibility.
• Create urgency using phrases like “Right now” or “Do not wait”.
• Highlight others’ actions as a social cue (e.g., “100 people have already donated”).
• Capture attention in titles with key information, e.g., “New report shows…” or “How you can…”.

Fundraising

• Offer a small token before making a larger request.
• Start with a small ask before escalating to larger ones.
• Make clear and specific statements about how donations will be used.
• Engage supporters with physical or mental challenges (e.g., cold plunges, marathons).
• Consider hosting a public discussion to engage broader community support.

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Audience Research

Findings

• 50% of Americans view the Palestinian people favourably, while 41% hold unfavourable views.
• Ages 18-30, Democrats, Muslims, and the religiously unaffiliated are more likely to sympathise with Palestinians.
• Ages 50+ are less likely to sympathise with Palestinians.
• 41% of Americans have a favourable view of the Israeli government, with 51% holding unfavourable opinions.
• 48% of Black Protestants and 45% of Americans aged 30-49 are uncertain about the U.S.’s role in the conflict.
• 50% of Americans favour the U.S. providing humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Social Media Statistics

• Most Popular Platforms: YouTube (83%), Facebook (68%), Instagram (47%).
• Ages 18-29: Prefer YouTube (93%), Instagram (78%), Facebook (67%), Snapchat (65%), TikTok (62%).
• Ages 30-49: Prefer YouTube (92%), Facebook (75%), Instagram (59%).
• News Consumption: X/Twitter (61%), Facebook (58%), Instagram (55%).

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Messaging Research

Key Effects & Techniques

Identifiable Victim Effect

• Messaging focused on a specific individual evokes more empathy than group statistics.

Proportion Dominance Effect

• Smaller groups make the impact of help seem greater.

Confirmation Bias & Cognitive Dissonance

• Emotional topics trigger confirmation bias; discomfort leads to reconciling actions with beliefs.

Vivid vs. Pallid Information

• Vivid information (concrete imagery) is more persuasive.

Cialdini’s Persuasive Techniques

• Reciprocity: Give first to get back.
• Scarcity: Highlight limited-time offers.
• Authority: Use endorsements from trusted figures.
• Consistency: Small initial commitments lead to larger actions.
• Liking & Social Proof: People say yes to those similar to them, or when others have acted.

Other Techniques

• Regret Aversion: Reduce anticipated regret with testimonials and supportive information.
• Priming: Subtle cues can influence behaviour.
• Martyrdom Effect: Conquer challenges to increase engagement.
• Information Gap Theory: People fill knowledge gaps if topics interest them.
• Verbatim Effect: Headlines are remembered more than detailed content.
• Mini Publics: Encourage deliberation on public issues.
• Using Visuals: Visuals boost recall and engagement.
• Donation Transparency: Specific impact statements increase donations.

Full Report

Click here to please read the detailed report

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