'The negativity is so bad': Missouri voter raises concerns about negative political advertisements

NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 anchor/reporter JuYeon Kim covers agricultural issues and the fentanyl crisis. Share your story idea with JuYeon.

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As Election Day gets closer, political advertisements are everywhere — TV, social media and along roadways.

Joan Peluso, a KSHB TV News viewer, reached out to the station.

Peluso is frustrated and concerned about how negative political ads have been in this election. So much so that she and her husband started muting the sound on their TV.

"The negativity is so bad, so we just started to mute our TV," she told KSHB 41News anchor/reporter JuYeon Kim. "So they are not getting to us at all," said Peluso.

Peluso also shared her frustration online recently and was surprised to find out how many of her neighbors echoed her frustration.

"I just happen to post in our neighborhood Facebook page and said, 'Here’s an idea. Let’s all just mute our TV,"' she said. "I got so many people that came back and supported exactly what I said — looking for the positive, looking for what they’re standing for, tired of the negativeness."

Peluso says as a voter, the negative ads don't work on her. They make her more inclined not to vote for that candidate.

"It sets me back a bit to say, 'If you’re gonna be that negative against your opponent, why would I want to vote for you?' So it’s really a negative impact on the way I vote," Peluso said.

In Peluso's email to KSHB 41 News, she wanted to find out if negative ads actually work.

Park University's Associate Professor of Political Science Matt Harris, says negative ads can be more memorable. And they do have the opportunity for voters to find out something important about a candidate they otherwise would not have to make an informed decision.

But do they outweigh the potential consequences? He mentioned a big point to consider.

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"Some of the research suggests that negative ads can actually lead to lower turnout," he said. "Particularly among those voters who are undecided or sort of find themselves in the middle. They can kind of make people feel like politics is disgusting, and it can kind of make people wanna kind of back away from the political process entirely. It can make them sort of feel like politics is a dirty game."

Harris also says negative ads may be less effective in local elections because a lot of people might already know that candidate well.

Both Harris and Peluso encourage voters to do their own research and make their best informed decisions in November for themselves and their family. .

"As citizens, as voters, we have to sort of do our own work to figure out, you know, what’s true and what isn’t," Harris said. "And I think that's really important, cause I think the negative political landscape and misinformation is unlikely going to change anytime soon."