Media Influence on Citizens’ Government Trust: A Cross-Sectional Data Analysis of China

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis study explores how media affects citizens’ government trust in modern China. Detailed analyses of the survey data found that Chinese official media has a positive effect on government trust, and the growing social media has been becoming a major threat to it. Further validation of the multiple mediation model shows that the post-materialist values, performance evaluation, and their continuous multiple role serve as bridges between the positive effect of official media on government trust. Although the similar mediating factors also exist between the negative influence of social media on public trust in government, their mechanisms and effects are quite different. Compared with the role of cultivating and guiding values, the propaganda effect of official media on government performance play a more important role in enhancing citizens’ trust in government, while the acceleration of public value transformation is the main source of decline in government trust brought by social media.