How do messages based on collective memory help to reduce anti-immigrant prejudice?

• Collective memory amplifies the effects of narrative media on prejudice reduction. • CM cues enhance narrative persuasion by boosting identification and past-remembering. • Short narratives on social media offer non-threatening contexts for mediated contact. This study explores anti-immigrant prejudice reduction through Collective Memory (CM). Drawing on mediated contact and narrative persuasion research, a narrative experiment ( N = 260) with a two-group design tested the effectiveness of testimonial CM-based messages in the context of Venezuelan immigration to Colombia. Relevant moderator (xenophobia level) and mediators (identification and narrative transportation) were included in the model. Results showed no interaction effect between CM cue and xenophobia on mediating variables. However, serial mediation analysis revealed that the CM cue activated perceived past-remembering, increasing mediators and ultimately favorable outcome variables. Implications for prejudice reduction are discussed, enhancing our understanding of CM’s impact.