AbstractCan exposure to successful immigrants in the mass media affect perceptions of immigrants and alter attitudes toward immigration? To address this question, I study the case of Ozlem Tureci and Ugur Sahin, the co-developers of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, and children of Turkish immigrants in Germany. I first demonstrate that German media favorably highlighted the Turkish roots and migration history of vaccine developers. Leveraging the quasi-experimental setting with the announcement of the success of the vaccine, I then posit that the wide broadcasting of the vaccine’s success and its developers’ identity should have positive spillover effects on public attitudes towards immigration. Amongst those who were exposed to this announcement, compared to those who were not, there is a 4 percentage-point increase in support of easing immigration opportunities. I suggest that this effect is driven by a change in perceptions and knowledge on issues relating to immigration and integration. These findings imply that promoting successful immigrants in the media has the potential to diminish prejudice; however, it is crucial to address varying biases toward different immigrant groups.
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