How "dark defaults" could cost you

This podcast episode discusses the use of dark defaults in political fundraising, where subtle changes to default settings on websites can lead people to make unintended choices. Researchers found that Republican fundraising websites raised $43 million more by using a pre-checked box that opted donors into recurring weekly donations. However, it is unclear how many donors actually intended to make these recurring donations. The unintended consequences of default settings were also explored, with donors who were defaulted into weekly recurring donations requesting twice as much money in refunds compared to those who were not. Small dollar donors were more susceptible to these dark defaults. The issue of pre-checked donation boxes on fundraising websites is seen as unethical, and some policymakers have proposed banning it.