Frames of the intervention in the 2016 US presidential election: Aiming the backlash?

How do the differing frames built up around the foreign intervention in the 2016 United States presidential election shape the public backlash, or lack thereof, against the intervenor? Examining opinion pieces from an array of influential media outlets through a lens of problem identification and blame direction, this project identifies four recent broad frames of the 2016 intervention. Blame is pointed either inwards at domestic actors or outwards at Russia, and the problem identified is either the intervention against Clinton or the suspicion of Trump afterwards. A survey experiment exposing respondents to vignettes based on these frames, however, shows no effects on stances towards the intervenor, Russia. These findings, while difficult to interpret, suggest that the significance of frames of electoral interventions may lie elsewhere.