GABS

Article Details

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2026): July

The Role of Promotional Deception in Influencing Voters’ Decisions (A Case Study of Iraqi Society)

https://doi.org/10.35912/gabs.v3i1.4291
22 Jun 2026

Abstract

Purpose: This study examines how promotional deception shapes
voters' decisions in Iraqi society, an emerging democracy marked
by political fragmentation, identity-based voting, and uneven
media literacy. It investigates four dimensions of promotional
deception, namely misleading information, emotional
manipulation, fake news, and unrealistic electoral promises, and
their influence on voter decisions.
Methodology: A descriptive analytical design was adopted using
a structured questionnaire administered to 100 Iraqi voters from
varied educational and occupational backgrounds. Data were
analyzed in SPSS through descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha
reliability testing, an independent samples t-test, Pearson
correlation, and simple linear regression to test the hypothesized
relationship between promotional deception and voter decisions.
Results: Findings confirm a statistically significant positive effect
of promotional deception on voter decisions. Social media
emerged as the principal channel for disseminating misleading
content, emotional manipulation exerted the strongest influence
among the four dimensions, and respondents displayed only
moderate media literacy.
Conclusions: Promotional deception measurably distorts rational
electoral judgment among Iraqi voters, reinforcing emotionally
driven rather than policy-based decisions and exposing the
fragility of informed citizenship within a consolidating
democracy.
Limitations: The cross-sectional design and convenience
sampling restrict causal inference and generalizability beyond the
surveyed population.
Contributions: The study extends political marketing theory to
an underexamined Middle Eastern context and offers evidence
based guidance for regulators, educators, and electoral institutions
strengthening media literacy and transparency.

Keywords

Electoral Behavior Emotional Manipulation Iraq Media Literacy Promotional Deception

How to Cite

Alkubeisy, Y. A. H., Obaid, S. M., & Hafedh, A. S. (2026). The Role of Promotional Deception in Influencing Voters’ Decisions (A Case Study of Iraqi Society). Global Academy of Business Studies, 3(1), 27–41. https://doi.org/10.35912/gabs.v3i1.4291

Download Citation

Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX

References

  1. Adjin-Tettey, T. D. (2022). Combating fake news, disinformation, and misinformation: Experimental evidence for media literacy education. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2022.2037229
  2. Al-Janabi, M. J. M. (2023). Social media's role in political participation during Iraqi elections: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 13(11), ..
  3. Allcott, H., & Gentzkow, M. (2017). Social media and fake news in the 2016 election. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(2), 211-236. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.31.2.211
  4. Arab Barometer. (2023). Public opinion in the Middle East and North Africa: Wave VII key findings. Arab Barometer.
  5. Arango-Kure, M., & Garz, M. (2025). Manipulation: An integrative framework of unethical influence in marketing. Journal of Business Research, 197, Article 115476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115476
  6. Batista Pereira, F., Bueno, N. S., Nunes, F., & Pavao, N. (2024). Inoculation reduces misinformation: Experimental evidence from multidimensional interventions in Brazil. Journal of Experimental Political Science, 11(3), 239-250. https://doi.org/10.1017/XPS.2023.11
  7. Brader, T. (2006). Campaigning for hearts and minds: How emotional appeals in political ads work. University of Chicago Press.
  8. Cakar, T., & Filiz, G. (2023). Unraveling neural pathways of political engagement: Bridging neuromarketing and political science for understanding voter behavior and political leader perception. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 17, Article 1293173. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1293173
  9. Ford, T. W., Yankoski, M., Facciani, M., & Weninger, T. (2023). Online media literacy intervention in Indonesia reduces misinformation sharing intention. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 15(2), 99-123. https://doi.org/10.23860/JMLE-2023-15-2-8
  10. Gherghina, S., & Mitru, B. (2023). First-time voters and electoral campaigns: Explaining online engagement in Romania. First Monday, 28(9). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v28i9.12741
  11. Gruning, D. J., & Schubert, T. W. (2022). Emotional campaigning in politics: Being moved and anger in political ads motivate to support candidate and party. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 781851. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.781851
  12. Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the findings of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
  13. Hamzah, A. G. (2021). Electoral systems and political participation in local and legislative elections of Iraq. Utopia y Praxis Latinoamericana, 26(Esp.2), 270-285
  14. Hasell, A., Halversen, A., & Weeks, B. E. (2025). When social media attack: How exposure to political attacks on social media promotes anger and political cynicism. The International Journal of Press/Politics. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612231221806
  15. Hirsch, M., Binder, A., & Matthes, J. (2024). The influence of political fit, issue fit, and targeted political advertising disclosures on persuasion knowledge, party evaluation, and chilling effects. Social Science Computer Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944393231193731
  16. Jones-Jang, S. M., Mortensen, T., & Liu, J. (2021). Does media literacy help identification of fake news? Information literacy helps, but other literacies don't. American Behavioral Scientist, 65(2), 371-388. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764219869406
  17. Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
  18. Kotler, P., & Kotler, N. (1999). Political marketing: Generating effective candidates, campaigns, and causes.
  19. Kubler, R. V., Manke, K., & Pauwels, K. (2025). I like, I share, I vote: Mapping the dynamic systemof political marketing. Journal of Business Research, 186, Article 115014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.115014
  20. Lewandowsky, S., Ecker, U. K. H., Cook, J., van der Linden, S., Roozenbeek, J., & Oreskes, N. (2023). Misinformation and the epistemic integrity of democracy. Current Opinion in Psychology, 54, Article 101711. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101711
  21. Mauk, M., & Gromping, M. (2024). Online disinformation predicts inaccurate beliefs about election fairness among both winners and losers. Comparative Political Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/00104140231193008
  22. Moisescu, O.-I., Sterie, L.-G., & Mican, D. (2026). Fake news, consumer cynicism and negative word-of-mouth: The mitigating role of trust in social media advertising. Computers in Human Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2025.108842
  23. Momeni, M. (2025). Artificial intelligence and political deepfakes: Shaping citizen perceptions through misinformation. Journal of Creative Communications. https://doi.org/10.1177/09732586241277335
  24. Mont'Alverne, C., Ross Arguedas, A., Banerjee, S., Toff, B., Fletcher, R., & Nielsen, R. K. (2024). The electoral misinformation nexus: How news consumption, platform use, and trust in news influence belief in electoral misinformation. Public Opinion Quarterly, 88(SI), 681-707. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfae019
  25. Nair, P., Eberwein, T., & Sparkes-Vian, C. S. (2025). Editorial: Social media and political participation: Unpacking the role of social media in contemporary politics. Frontiers in Sociology, 10, Article 1658996. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1658996
  26. Neyazi, T. A., Kuru, O., & Mukerjee, S. (2024). The influence of sexism and incivility in WhatsApp political discussions on affective polarization: Evidence from a 2022 multi-party election in India. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 30(3), 797-818. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612241242431
  27. Neyazi, T. A., Muhtadi, B., & Paul, S. B. (2022). Political trust, democratic satisfaction, and partisanship: Explaining leadership approval in Indonesia in times of economic hardship during the COVID-19 crisis. Asian Survey, 62(4), 600-627. https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2022.1651118
  28. Ohberg, P. (2023). Election campaigns and the cyclical nature of emotions: How politicians engage in affective polarization. Scandinavian Political Studies, 46(3), 257-278. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9477.12258
  29. Rao, A. (2022). Deceptive claims using fake news advertising: The impact on consumers. Journal of Marketing Research, 59(3), 534-554. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222437211039804
  30. Sophocleous, H. P., Masouras, A. N., & Anastasiadou, S. D. (2024). The impact of political marketing on voting behaviour of Cypriot voters. Social Sciences, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13030149
  31. Sophocleous, H., Anastasiadou, S., Kavoura, A., Briciu, V.-A., Masouras, A., & Briciu, A. (2025). Social networks' influence on voting behavior and involvement of Cypriot voters. In A. Kavoura, V.-A. Briciu, & A. Briciu (Eds.), In A. Kavoura, V.-A. Briciu, & A. Briciu (Eds.), Strategic innovative marketing and tourism (pp. 221-229). Springer (pp. 221-229).
  32. United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq. (2022). Supporting elections in the age of misinformation and disinformation: UNAMI OEA's support to IHEC in combating misinformation and disinformation during the 2021 CoR elections.
  33. Vargas-Merino, J. A., Pillaca-Villarruel, C. del P., Silvera-Otane, G. P., Fernandez-Hurtado, G. A., Olortegui-Alcalde, L. M., & Berrospi-Ytahashi, A. M. (2025). Unraveling the influence of political marketing on electoral decision-making: A robust analysis with PLS-SEM. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 12, Article 101811. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2025.101811
  34. Yilmaz, I., Akbarzadeh, S., Abbasov, N., & Bashirov, G. (2025). The double-edged sword: Political engagement on social media and its impact on democracy support in authoritarian regimes. Political Research Quarterly, 78(2), 419-436. https://doi.org/10.1177/10659129241305035

Authors

1 Yaseen Ali Hameed Alkubeisy
Imam Ja'afar Al-Sadiq University, Baghdad. Iraq
2 Sabah Mohammed Obaid
Imam Ja'afar Al-Sadiq University, Baghdad. Iraq
3 Anwer Salam Hafedh
Imam Ja'afar Al-Sadiq University, Baghdad, Iraq

Downloads

View PDF

Statistics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2026): July
Section: Articles
WhatsApp Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Email