Audiences and stakeholders
For a narrative and message framework to be effective, it is important to identify the stakeholders and audiences they are intended to reach, engage, and motivate to action since they have the most to gain (or lose), and their needs and interests need to be centered in every respect.
In the context of governance, narrative and messaging can provide those segments of the population who already believe in democracy with the tools and resources to communicate more effectively, to be more motivated to take civic action in support of this belief, and to help motivate others.
The audience segments below are based on data from an online survey (n=2,021) conducted by Prime Group on behalf of Metropolitan Group in July 2025. The sample was constructed and weighted to represent the most recent United States Census in terms of gender identity, race/ethnicity, age, education, and geography. The sample was also weighted to match Gallup’s Q2 2025 tracking survey of party affiliation, which identified the following: Republicans 28%; Democrats 27%; and independents 45%.
Segmentation was determined based on responses to a question about the form of governance survey respondents would prefer for the United States on a scale of 1 to 4 between authoritarianism (1) at one end and democracy (4) at the other. System A was defined (without labeling it in any way) as “a political system in which a leader has decision-making power without limits or accountability to the people, Congress, or the courts.” System B was defined (also without labeling) as “a political system in which leaders are accountable to the people, no one is above the law, and no branch of government has too much power.”
1. Supporters (67% of the population)
Supporters (67% of the population) express strong preference (on a scale of 1 to 4) for a political system in which leaders are accountable to the people, no one is above the law, and no branch of government has too much power.
A narrative strategy should focus on activating these Supporters by providing them with the tools, resources, and support to be more effective in carrying the new narrative and messaging in their formal and informal advocacy efforts.
Due to its vast size, this audience reflects the general population in many respects in terms of demographics. While individuals in the Supporter segment lean slightly older (55+) than the general population, there are no statistically significant differences between this segment and the general population in terms of gender identity, race or ethnicity, education, or household income.
This segment also includes people across the political spectrum, although the segment overall leans slightly more Democrat and somewhat liberal than the general population. In the survey, 31% identify as Democrat; 25% identify as Republican; and 36% identify as Independent. While 32% of individuals in the Supporter segment say they are liberal, 28% say they are conservative.
While those in the Supporter segment are more likely than the general population to think the country is on the wrong track (by 7 points), nearly one-third of this segment think the country is going in the right direction. Similarly, while 64% of Supporters (compared with 57% of the survey sample) don’t agree very much or at all with the leadership of the United States right now (i.e., the president, Congress, and the courts), 34% agree somewhat or to a great extent with that leadership.
Thus, while this segment leans slightly more than the general public toward dissatisfaction with current leadership and the direction of the country, approximately one-third are both strong supporters of democracy AND supporters of the country’s current leadership and direction.
To better understand this large and diverse segment, MG examined the extent to which Supporters of democracy are engaged in the political process and staying abreast of news about politics and government. This led to the identification of three sub-segments of Supporters:
- Very Engaged Supporters (14% of Supporters): Those who actively seek out news about politics and government, and report they have voted in every nonpresidential election.
- Somewhat Engaged Supporters (33% of Supporters): Those who lean toward actively seeking out news about politics and government, and have voted in at least some nonpresidential elections.
- Disengaged Supporters (54% of Supporters): Those who lean toward active avoidance of news about politics or the government and have either voted in no more than “some” nonpresidential elections or say they are not registered to vote.
In defining the parameters for segmentation as described above, it is important to examine current levels of political and civic engagement. It is also important to note that these measures can be influenced by voting accessibility, disenfranchisement, and suppression, by changing norms in how people are exposed to news about politics and government (whether they actively seek it or not), and more. The data reported here suggests the value of exploring new opportunities to reach, engage, and provide opportunities for activation across these audience segments.
In terms of the impact of exposure to the narrative and messaging in the course of taking the July 2025 survey, it is important to note that the Democracy Supporter segment was virtually “all in” on democracy as a preferred system of government for the U.S. (100% expressed the strongest possible preference — 4 on a scale of 1 to 4 — for a democratic form of government. They also expressed agreement with the Freedom Matters narrative from the outset of the survey. Upon reading the narrative’s core message paragraph at the beginning of the survey, 92% said they agreed and an overwhelming 61% strongly agreed. Although we observed modest (6 point) net negative movement in their system preference and agreement with the narrative at the end of the survey, this pattern is consistent with the ceiling effect commonly observed in social and communication research among audiences who already exhibit the highest levels of endorsement at baseline.
For more detailed data describing this audience segment, please refer to the appendix in the U.S. research report.
2. Lean Supporters (21% of the population)
Lean Supporters (21% of the population) lean toward a preference for the principles of liberal democracy (3 on a scale of 1 to 4).
Like the Supporter segment, this segment largely reflects the demographic diversity of the United States, although individuals are more likely than the general population to be white, to have household income between $75,000 and $99,999 per year, and to be single.
This segment is more likely to identify as Republican and to say they are somewhat conservative or middle of the road (i.e., center or center-right). This segment is more likely than the general population to think the country is moving in the right direction (53% versus 38% for the overall survey sample). A majority of this segment (57% compared to 41% of the survey sample) agree at least somewhat with current U.S. leadership.
The vast majority of this segment (69%) would be considered part of the “Disengaged Middle” that runs across all of the audience segments (with the exception of Very Engaged Democracy Supporters) by virtue of the fact that they lean towards active avoidance of news about politics or the government and they have either voted in no more than “some” non-presidential elections or say they are not registered to vote.
Exposure to the narrative and messaging in the course of taking the survey results in a net positive shift of 8 points toward preferring democracy as a system of government and/or agreement with the Freedom Matters narrative. More significantly, while 100% of this audience segment had, at the beginning of the survey, leaned (3 on a scale of 1 to 4) toward preferring democracy as the system of government for the United States, one-in-five individuals in this segment expressed a strong preference for democracy (4 on a scale of 1 to 4) at the end of the survey.
For more detailed data describing this audience segment, please refer to the appendix in the U.S. research report.
3. Lean Opposition (7% of the population)
Lean Opposition (7% of the population) lean toward a preference for an authoritarian system of government for the United States (3 on a scale of 1 to 4)
This segment is more likely to be 35-44 years old (Millennial) with a household income of $50,000 to $74,999 per year. They are also more likely to attend religious services weekly. In other respects, they largely mirror the demographics of the survey sample.
As with the Lean Supporter segment, this segment leans more towards being Republican (36%) than Democrat (23%) with 35% reporting that they are Independent (mirroring the overall survey sample). This segment is more likely than the survey sample to say they are conservative (39% versus 31% for the overall sample) and to say they are very conservative (19% compared to 13%).
Like the Supporter segment, the majority (53%) of the Lean Opposition segment says the country is on the wrong track, but this segment is virtually evenly split between those who agree with current U.S. leadership (48%) and those who do not (49%). The small size of this audience as a proportion (7%) of the overall survey sample suggests caution in reading too much into this positive swing, although it is clear that, at the very least, exposure to the narrative and messaging does not result in pushback.
Similar to the Lean Supporter segment, the vast majority of this segment (66%) would be considered part of the “Disengaged Middle” referenced above by virtue of the fact that they lean towards active avoidance of news about politics or the government and they have either voted in no more than “some” non-presidential elections or say they are not registered to vote.
Exposure to the narrative and messaging in the course of taking the survey results in a net positive shift of 39 points toward preferring democracy as a system of government and/or agreement with the Freedom Matters narrative. In addition, while 100% of the individuals in this segment leaned toward a preference for an authoritarian system of government for the United States (2 on a scale of 1 to 4) at the beginning of the survey, one-in-four had shifted toward a preference for democracy (3 out of 4) and 16% expressed a strong preference for democracy (4 out of 4) after exposure to the narrative and messaging.
The relatively small size of this audience as a proportion (7%) of the overall survey sample suggests caution in reading too much into the positive swings. Nevertheless, while this would not necessarily be a priority audience segment initially, it appears that at the very least, exposure to the narrative and messaging does not result in pushback.
For more detailed data describing this audience segment, please refer to the appendix in the U.S. research report.
4. Opposition (5% of the population)
Opposition (5% of the population) strongly prefer an authoritarian system of government for the United States, which was defined in the survey (without labeling it as such) as a system in which a leader has decision-making power without limits or accountability to the people, Congress, or the courts.
This segment is more likely than the general population to be 25-34 or 45-54 years old, to identify as female, to have household income less than $50,000 per year and less than four years of college. Politically, this group leans toward identifying as Republican (42% compared to 28% of the survey sample) and conservative (40% versus 31% of the survey sample). Of all the segments described above, this segment is much more likely to say they are very conservative (24% compared to 13% of the survey sample).
This segment is far more likely than the other segments or the general survey sample to say the country is headed in the right direction (59% compared to 38% of the survey sample). Like the Lean Supporter segment, 57% of the Opposition segment agree at least somewhat with the current leadership of the United States, although their level of intensity of agreement is far higher. While 19% of Lean Supporters agree to a great extent with current leadership, 34% of the Opposition segment say the same thing.
The survey conducted for MG suggests respondents in this audience segment moved dramatically in a positive direction either in support of democracy as a preferred system of government or agreement with the Freedom Matters narrative (net positive of +55 points) in the course of taking the survey. Similarly, while 100% of the individuals in this segment expressed a strong preference for an authoritarian system of government (1 on a scale of 1 to 4) for the United States at the start of the survey, 42% expressed the opposite preference for democracy (4 out of 4) after exposure to the narrative and messaging in the course of the survey.
As with the Lean Opposition segment, the small size of this audience as a proportion (5%) of the overall survey sample suggests the same caution in reading too much into the positive swings. Nevertheless, while this would not be a priority audience segment, it appears that at the very least, exposure to the narrative and messaging does not result in opposition pushback.
For more detailed data describing this audience segment, please refer to the appendix in the U.S. research report.