Trust In Mass Media Research Articles

The Effect of Health-Related Media Messages on Fear and Uncertainty about the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study was conducted to investigate individuals' perceptions of media messages about the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect of these messages on their fear and uncertainty. Data for this descriptive correlational study were collected between October and November 2020. A total of 653 individuals living in Turkey provided online survey data by completing a Personal Information Form, the Pandemic Uncertainty Scale, and the COVID-19 Pandemic Fear Scale. The mean age of the participants was 52.1 ± 12.6, and 79.9% were female. It was found that 27.9% of participants "always" followed COVID-19 news in the media, and 41.3% "often" followed COVID-19-related news. Participants' COVID-19 fear (24.46 ± 8.07) and uncertainty (55.35 ± 8.63) scores were moderate and correlated. Level of trust in mass media was found to affect uncertainty about the pandemic. As level of trust in mass media increased, uncertainty about the pandemic decreased. Appropriate measures must be identified and adopted for effective and safe media use in situations posing massive and significant health threats such as COVID-19.

Another Covid Causality: Global Journalism

This study investigates the profound impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global media landscape and its consequential effects on journalism. Utilizing the secondary data analysis method, this study explores how the pandemic affected journalists worldwide. The study argues that the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated media commercialization globally due to the ensuing global recession. Simultaneously, there was a noticeable push by politicians to exert greater influence over the media, seeking to conceal their misdeeds and shortcomings, as well as to propagate their narratives through the press. This encompassed discussions about the coronavirus’s origin, transmission, and containment efforts, often as a means to gain advantages over domestic and international political adversaries. Many outlets, faced with fiscal and political adversity, unwittingly became conduits for such political propaganda, a consequence both of their struggle for survival and their lack of preparedness to navigate a crisis of such magnitude. Consequently, a surge of disinformation and misinformation regarding the virus’s origin and mitigation permeated media outlets, resulting in a crisis of credibility. The aftermath reveals a disheartening decline in public trust in mass media that significantly impeded vaccination initiatives.

Trust in Mass Media as Sources of Cancer Information: Findings from a Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Survey in Japan

Trust is a major factor in effective public dissemination and use of relevant health information to guide important health decisions. To examine mass media as a communication channel for delivering cancer information among Japanese adults, we identified the level of trust in various types of mass media as sources of cancer information, and examined factors associated with trust, including exposure to mass media, sociodemographic factors, and cancer history. Data were analyzed for 3,109 Japanese adults who responded to a nationally representative cross-sectional mail survey. Data included trust in cancer information sources, sociodemographic variables, cancer history, and exposure to mass media. Logistic regression analysis was used. The prevalence of high trust in cancer information sources was highest for physicians (94.7%). Among mass media, Internet (47.2%) was the most trusted source of cancer-related information, followed by television (44.3%), newspapers/magazines (42.7%), and radio (32.7%). The high-exposure group for newspapers (AOR = 1.28, 95%CI = 1.07–1.54) was more likely to trust newspapers. Similarly, high-exposure groups for radio (1.22, 1.02–1.45), Internet (1.21, 1.01–1.45), and television (1.30, 1.10–1.53) were positively associated with trust in each media type. Although trust in mass media was lower than trust in physicians, the study found that a large group of respondents had high levels of trust in mass media sources. Trust in cancer information from each mass media type was mainly related to the level of exposure to each mass media type. Developing health communication strategies using mass media may be effective for disseminating relevant cancer information in Japan.

Internet information as a factor of a person’s emotional and psychological well-being

Introduction. Information in modern society acts as a cultural tool influencing human socialisation processes. However, the amount of information consumed by a human is so extensive that it leads to information overload; its consequences on a person’s emotional and psychological well-being are not sufficiently studied, which determines the relevance of the present study. The issues of trust in mass media and human’s psychological well-being have been studied most often in modern psychological science as independent phenomena. Most often researchers focus on analysing the impact of news content on human well-being regardless of the extent of trust in it. The aim of the study was to reveal the relationship between the level of trust in digital media and a person’s emotional and psychological well-being. Materials and methods. The study involved 456 1st – 5th year students of the State University for Humanities and Social Studies (M=116, W=340, average age 19.7±2.8). The Integrative anxiety test; the Basic beliefs scale; the Psychological well-being scale were used to study one’s emotional and psychological well-being. The level of trust in mass media was measured with the use of the original questionnaire. Results. It was found that people who trust Internet media have more expressed emotional and personal problems reducing the level of their psychological well-being: anxiety about the future (p=0.004), depression (p=0.011), negative self-esteem and dissatisfaction with circumstances of their life (p=0.034). As shown by the factor analysis, the main correlatives of emotional and psychological ill-being in groups of those who trust and do not trust the media are as follows: expressed anxiety, low level of self-esteem and self-value, use of the emotional strategy for coping with stress (factor 2 “Emotional discomfort”). The ill-being of people who trust information in the Internet increases when they turn to the strategy of emotional social support in difficult situations, and the overall balance of well-being in people who do not trust the Internet can be disrupted in case of “crisis of beliefs” (factor 2 “Emotional discomfort”). Conclusion. The obtained results help to gain deeper understanding of the mechanisms of influence of Internet sources on human psychological well-being and to develop “healthy” media consumption programmes. Further research in this area can be focused on in-depth search for a set of determinant psychological variables – psychological well-being development protectors, with regard for gender, age and individual psychological characteristics of a person underlying trust in consumed information.

Internet information as a factor of a person’s emotional and psychological well-being

Introduction. Information in modern society acts as a cultural tool influencing human socialisation processes. However, the amount of information consumed by a human is so extensive that it leads to information overload; its consequences on a person’s emotional and psychological well-being are not sufficiently studied, which determines the relevance of the present study. The issues of trust in mass media and human’s psychological well-being have been studied most often in modern psychological science as independent phenomena. Most often researchers focus on analysing the impact of news content on human well-being regardless of the extent of trust in it. The aim of the study was to reveal the relationship between the level of trust in digital media and a person’s emotional and psychological well-being. Materials and methods. The study involved 456 1st – 5th year students of the State University for Humanities and Social Studies (M=116, W=340, average age 19.7±2.8). The Integrative anxiety test; the Basic beliefs scale; the Psychological well-being scale were used to study one’s emotional and psychological well-being. The level of trust in mass media was measured with the use of the original questionnaire. Results. It was found that people who trust Internet media have more expressed emotional and personal problems reducing the level of their psychological well-being: anxiety about the future (p=0.004), depression (p=0.011), negative self-esteem and dissatisfaction with circumstances of their life (p=0.034). As shown by the factor analysis, the main correlatives of emotional and psychological ill-being in groups of those who trust and do not trust the media are as follows: expressed anxiety, low level of self-esteem and self-value, use of the emotional strategy for coping with stress (factor 2 “Emotional discomfort”). The ill-being of people who trust information in the Internet increases when they turn to the strategy of emotional social support in difficult situations, and the overall balance of well-being in people who do not trust the Internet can be disrupted in case of “crisis of beliefs” (factor 2 “Emotional discomfort”). Conclusion. The obtained results help to gain deeper understanding of the mechanisms of influence of Internet sources on human psychological well-being and to develop “healthy” media consumption programmes. Further research in this area can be focused on in-depth search for a set of determinant psychological variables – psychological well-being development protectors, with regard for gender, age and individual psychological characteristics of a person underlying trust in consumed information.

What drives changes in expressive social media use for generational cohorts?

Extant literature has often focused on digital citizenship amongst youths in particular instances and contexts, but is limited in addressing how such citizenship compare to other generational cohorts. Examining political expression as a particular form of actualising citizenship, the paper utilises a longitudinal approach to explore the effects of changes in political efficacy, media use, political knowledge, media trust and political talk on political expression – and the differences between generational cohorts over two general elections in Singapore. Findings indicate that while changes in mass media use, social media use, trust in instant messaging and personal communications and political talk were positively associated with changes in political expression as a whole, changes in political knowledge and trust in mass media negatively predicted political expression. With different effects observed for different generational cohorts of citizens, findings from the study contribute to deeper understandings of practices of actualising citizenship over time.

COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among college students in South Carolina: do information sources and trust in information matter?

Background For college students who are exposed to multimedia, the sources of COVID-19 vaccine information and their trust in these sources may play a role in shaping the vaccine acceptance spectrum (refusal, hesitancy, and acceptance). Methods Based on an online survey among 1,062 college students in South Carolina, we investigated vaccine information sources among college students and examined how COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was associated with information source and trust level in each source. Results The top three sources of COVID-19 vaccine information were health agencies, mass media, and personal social networks. Trust in mass media, health agencies, scientists, and pharmaceutical companies was negatively associated with vaccine refusal. Trust in government and scientists was negatively associated with vaccine hesitancy. Discussion Our findings highlight the importance of restoring trust in government, healthcare system, scientists, and pharmaceutical industries in the COVID-19 era.

“If This account is True, It is Most Enormously Wonderful”: Interestingness-If-True and the Sharing of True and False News

Why would people share news they think might not be accurate? We identify a factor that, alongside accuracy, drives the sharing of true and fake news: the ‘interestingness-if-true’ of a piece of news. In three pre-registered experiments (N = 904), participants were presented with a series of true and fake news, and asked to rate the accuracy of the news, how interesting the news would be if it were true, and how likely they would be to share it. Participants were more willing to share news they found more interesting-if-true, as well as news they deemed more accurate. They deemed fake news less accurate but more interesting-if-true than true news, and were more likely to share true news than fake news. As expected, interestingness-if-true differed from interestingness and accuracy, and had good face validity. Higher trust in mass media was associated with a greater ability to discern true from fake news, and participants rated as more accurate news that they had already been exposed to (especially for true news). We argue that people may not share news of questionable accuracy by mistake, but instead because the news has qualities that compensate for its potential inaccuracy, such as being interesting-if-true.

Overcoming Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: The United States Faces a Steeper Uphill Struggle than the United Kingdom

This policy brief reports findings from two nationally representative online surveys that were conducted in the United States (N=2,280) and in the United Kingdom (N=2,000) in October and November 2020 to explore the factors that influence the willingness to be vaccinated against Covid-19. The study was conducted before vaccines were officially approved and on the market. However, it very closely tracks the actual developments in both countries through the summer of 2021. Findings suggest that socioeconomic factors, some very difficult to influence by policy in the short term, strongly shape the willingness to be vaccinated. In addition, the contested and divided political landscape and the highly competitive and fragmented media system in the United States help explain the findings.The surveys identify similarities but also major differences between the two countries. In the United States, 51% of the adult population said they were willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, 28% were not, and 21% were undecided. In the United Kingdom, 71% of the adult population said they were willing to be vaccinated, 14% were not, and 15% were undecided. Race may be a major barrier to achieving high COVID-19 vaccination rates in the United States. Black respondents were 46% less willing to be vaccinated than White respondents. Gender may be a barrier to achieving high vaccination rates in the United States and United Kingdom. Women were 43% less willing to be vaccinated than men in the United States. They were 41% less willing than men to be vaccinated in the United Kingdom.Older individuals and those with higher income indicated a higher willingness to be vaccinated in both countries. Trust appears key to vaccination acceptance. Individuals with higher levels of trust in mass media were more willing to be vaccinated in both countries. Individuals with a higher general level of trust in others were more willing to be vaccinated in the United States. Medical information. Individuals who consulted medical sources were more willing to be vaccinated. Media sources. Reliance on conservative outlets, mainstream outlets, and television was not associated in a statistically significant way with the willingness to be vaccinated. Concern about getting COVID-19 is strongly associated with willingness to get vaccinated. Individuals who were more concerned about the pandemic indicated they were more willing to be vaccinated, but this effect was much stronger in the United Kingdom than in the United States.Overall, in the United States, the factors most strongly associated with willingness to be vaccinated are race (White), gender (male), age (older), income (higher), trust in mass media, and concern about getting coronavirus. In the United Kingdom, the factors most strongly associated with willingness to be vaccinated are gender (male), age (older), income (higher), trust in mass media, and concern about getting coronavirus. Race is not associated with the willingness to be vaccinated, unlike in the United States.

Так ли страшен фейк? Ложные новости и их роль в современном мире

В статье представлен обзор ключевых зарубежных исследований фейковых новостей. Работы, посвященные фейковым новостям, зачатую противоречивы и приходят к противоположным выводам. В литературе отсутствует единое определение данного понятия. Оценки общественной опасности фейковых новостей, на которых сфокусирована эта статья, также неоднозначны. В числе поводов для тревоги выделяют спорную эффективность имеющихся методов противодействия ложной информации, политическую предвзятость такого контента, а также тот факт, что любой контент может при определенных условиях стать вирусным. Кроме того, увеличение числа фейковых новостей рассматривается как причина снижения доверия СМИ, которое, впрочем, наблюдалось задолго до того, как рассматриваемое явление возникло. Вместе с тем ряд исследований показывает, что реальная аудитория фейковых новостей не очень велика и достаточно специфична. Это должно несколько снизить потенциальные негативные эффекты ложной информации. Кроме того, есть возможности для противодействия дезинформирующим сайтам и группы людей, менее подверженные их влиянию. Таким образом, потенциальные последствия фейковых новостей неоднозначны. Хотя данный феномен обсуждается преимущественно в негативном ключе, существуют факторы, снижающие остроту проблемы. Благодарность. Статья приготовлена при поддержке Российского научного фонда (РНФ), грант № 19-18-00206.

‘Trust, but verify’: problems of formation of media literacy and critical thinking of Russian students

ABSTRACT The problems of media education and media literacy, which have been in the focus of attention of different sciences for a long time, are closely related to free media access possibilities and ability to produce own media texts, on the one hand, and the ability to critically interpret information, on the other hand, and, most importantly, they are related to the issues of trust in the media and in the content generated by it as a whole. At the same time, it should be noted that the trust phenomenon itself is one of the most complicated phenomena in public relations studies. Paradoxically, however, even though the level of trust in mass media as a social institution continues to remain an important indicator of societal well-being, the ability to take a critical view of any media message, characterize a certain maturity of the social environment, a certain level of media literacy and critical mindset of citizens. That is exactly why it deemed important for us to emphasize the issues of trust in information sources in the course of a survey of Russian students’ media literacy level which took a few years, the results of which are presented in this article.

The effects of carrier, benefit, and perceived trust in information channel on functional food purchase intention among Chinese consumers

The importance of consumers’ perceptions and adoption behavior has been recognized in the development of functional food innovation, but the issues have not been widely explored in China. This study aimed to examine the effects of carrier, benefit, and trust in information channel about functional foods on purchase intention as well as the demographic differences of these effects. A survey with 1144 respondents from Mainland China revealed that carriers were more important factors than benefits for perceived attractiveness and purchase intention. Benefits were more positively evaluated when attached to a more attractive carrier. Benefits of improving the body’s natural defense system were most favored by all groups; benefits about specific diseases were suitable to tailor for certain groups. Consumers with low educational level were reluctant to functional foods. The improvement of consumer education level does not necessarily increase the consumers’ purchase intention. Given the Chinese acquaintance society and the jeopardized public trust in food safety, the interpersonal channel was the most trusted information channel. However, perceived trust in mass media had more remarkable effects in predicting purchase intention toward functional foods, the typical products with credence attributes. Trust in mass media negatively interacted with friends’ recommendation in affecting purchase intention. These findings extend our understanding of how to tailor products for different groups and the effects of information channels on purchase intention.

Media Credibility and the Base Rate Fallacy

The base rate fallacy describes how people rely on exemplars more than on base rates, when making judgments about a population. We provide a test of the base rate fallacy, considering the critiques of the research on the base rate fallacy on theoretical grounds. It is proposed that while trustworthy media outlets will allow readers to believe in anecdotal evidence found in news stories, readers will rely instead on base rates when presented with less trusted sources. Findings indicate that media credibility moderates the use of exemplars, although only among those with high trust in mass media.

The effects of question wording on the process of measuring trust in mass media: Using representative social survey data and a randomized web survey experiment

The effects of question wording on the process of measuring trust in mass media: Using representative social survey data and a randomized web survey experiment

Adult Attachment Style and Political Ideology

Political polarization has intensified in the United States since the 1970s. The present research concerned adult attachment style as a potential explanation for ideological divisions. Few studies have examined this, mainly in college student samples, and their results conflict. The present research contributes to the literature because it is the first one to focus on the relationship of adult attachment to ideology in general population samples. Ideology was measured by self-placement on a 7-point scale. Attachment was measured by Carver’s 14-item self-reported Measure of Attachment Qualities (MAQ). Structural equation models were estimated for path analyses. The results for the direct effect of secure attachment style on ideology were mixed and indicated that both liberals and conservatives can have secure attachments. Results also underscored the potential importance of higher socioeconomic status for secure relational attachment style. Higher religiosity and lower trust in mass media contributed to conservatism.

Перспективы взаимодействия СМИ, органов государственной власти и гражданского общества по вопросам интеграции молодежи в политическую сферу общества

<p>Статья содержит анализ проблемы взаимодействия средств массовой информации, органов государственной власти и институтов гражданского общества по обеспечению позитивной модели интеграции российской молодежи в политическую сферу общества. Обосновывается значимость принципов, лежащих в основе построения конструктивного диалога между институтами государства и институциональными структурами гражданского общества. Авторами аргументирована роль института массмедиа как основного коммуникатора между гражданским обществом и государственными структурами.</p><p>В статье представлена точка зрения на эффективность современных СМИ выполнять функции общественного контроля. Авторы выдвигают аргументы, что в качестве показателей эффективности выступают доступность, прогрессивность и независимость СМИ. Доверие граждан к массмедиа напрямую зависит от их независимости и приоритетности информации. Отмечается важность обеспечения приоритетности в информационной сфере запросов гражданского общества, включая молодежную социальную когорту. Приводятся очевидные факты, что информационное поле массмедиа призвано отражать соответствие политических представлений молодых граждан политической действительности. Выявлены условия, позволяющие избежать информационного идеологического давления на молодых граждан.</p><p>Высказаны предложения по оптимизации информационного воздействия СМИ на процессы интеграции молодежи в социально-политические практики российского общества. Молодым гражданам, в том числе представителям молодежных организаций, студентам высших и средних учебных заведений, должен быть обеспечен равный доступ к информации, отражающей положение молодежи в обществе.</p>

The relationship between trust in mass media and the healthcare system and individual health: evidence from the AsiaBarometer Survey

BackgroundVertical and horizontal trust, as dimensions of social capital, may be important determinants of health. As mass media campaigns have been used extensively to promote healthy lifestyles and convey health-related information, high levels of individual trust in the media may facilitate the success of such campaigns and, hence, have a positive influence on health. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between trust levels in mass media, an aspect of vertical trust, and health.MethodsBased on cross-sectional data of the general population from the AsiaBarometer Survey (2003–2006), we analyzed the relationship between self-rated health and trust in mass media, using a multilevel logistic model, adjusted for age, gender, marital status, income, education, occupation, horizontal trust, and trust in the healthcare system.ResultsIn a total of 39082 participants (mean age 38; 49% male), 26808 (69%) were classified as in good health. By the levels of trust in mass media, there were 6399 (16%) who reported that they trust a lot, 16327 (42%) reporting trust to a degree, 9838 (25%) who do not really trust, 3307 (9%) who do not trust at all, and 191 (0.5%) who have not thought about it. In the multilevel model, trust in mass media was associated with good health (do not trust at all as the base group): the odds ratios (OR) of 1.16 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05–1.27) for do not really trust; OR of 1.35 (95% CI = 1.23–1.49) for trust to a degree, and 1.57 (95% CI = 1.36–1.81) for trust a lot. Horizontal trust and trust in the healthcare system were also associated with health.ConclusionVertical trust in mass media is associated with better health in Asian people. Since mass media is likely an important arena for public health, media trust should be enhanced to make people healthier.

From liberal to predatory mass media in post-communist Lithuania

Referring to the concepts, communicative democracy is defined as free, open and democratic communication organized around three equally legitimate public sphere actors – politicians, journalists and public opinion, and populism is understood as good, entertaining and effective communication with people, eroding basic functions of the political parties (institutionalization of ideological conflicts) and politicians (representation), the paper provides insights about the dangers to quality of democracy if the free mass media gets utterly away from political parallelism. Special attention is placed on the tendencies of media personnel to be active in the political life. The paper conceptualizes a tremendous decrease (by one third) in public trust in mass media in Lithuania, observed from 1998 to 2009 and interprets this change as a cumulative result of the post-communist illstructured political field under pressing liberalization and democratization coupled with specific patterns of the Lithuanian political culture and public sphere. In the conditions of a still relatively high public trust in mass-media and scarce foreign ownership of the mass-media outlets in Lithuania, the local media barons are able to produce and impose their own public-agenda. The Lithuanian massmedia and government relations evolve along the lines of the zero-sum game: they seek to control each other, and at the same time try to avoid being controlled by the other, while any other pattern of inter-relations does not appear as viable and appropriate. INTUNE project survey (2009) shows that the media elite’s influence in the national decision making process is significantly higher in Lithuania than, for instance, in Germany or Hungary.Key words: populism, communicative democracy, mass-media ownership, public sphere, public trust.

Trust in Government and News Media among Korean Americans

Korean immigrants to the United States provide insights into how individuals assess trust in mass media similarly to trust in government in some countries, such as in Korea where press and government are closely related. But this close relationship does not hold in the United States, this mail survey of 239 Korean immigrants finds. As contact with the new country builds, and with the old one weakens, newcomers learn to fit, as natives, into a culture in which institutions like the press and government perform independently.

Issue Importance and Trust in Mass Media

Issue Importance and Trust in Mass Media