Replication Data for: Public Service Announcements and Promoting Face Masks During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Wearing facemasks to combat the spread of Covid-19 became a politicized and contested practice in the United States (US), largely due to misinformation and partisan cues from masking opponents. We examine whether Public Service Announcements (PSAs) can encourage the use of facemasks. We designed two PSAs. One PSA describes the benefits of using facemasks. The second uses a novel messenger (a retired US general) to advocate for facemasks. We conducted two studies. First, we aired our PSAs on television and surveyed residents of the media market to determine if they saw the PSA and how they felt about wearing facemasks. Second, we conducted a randomized experiment on a diverse national sample. Both studies suggest that exposure to our PSAs increased support for masks and induced greater compliance with public health advice. These findings have implications for how governments might fight pandemics.