A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. Oftentimes these messages feature unsettling imagery, ideas or behaviors that are designed to startle or even scare the viewer into understanding the consequences of undergoing a particular harmful action or inaction (such as pictures of drug users before and after their addiction or realistic skits of domestic violence situations) as well as the importance of avoiding such choices. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, they are known as an announcement in the public interest (API).[1]
- ^ "TV Announcements in the Public Interest (APIs)". Information Services Department - HKSAR Government. Retrieved 10 March 2022.