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Trust in institutions and communicators

Trust is the degree to which a person believes that another person, institution, or source will act in their interest or provide accurate information. In risk perception and misinformation research, trust often matters more than factual knowledge. Empirical research consistently shows that what someone they trust tells them about a risk is more influential than the person's own factual knowledge about that risk (Siegrist, 2000; Brossard & Nisbet, 2007).

Trust and misinformation

When publics have low trust in institutions or media sources, they are more likely to believe misinformation from alternative sources. Low press trust is a significant structural barrier to fact-checking effectiveness, particularly when fact-checks are affiliated with traditional media outlets. In polarized environments, partisan groups may have systematically different trust levels in different institutions—for example, Republicans trust the CDC but distrust traditional journalists; Democrats may show the opposite pattern—creating incompatible fact-checking expectations.

Trust barriers in the U.S.

  • Low press trust: Overall trust in press in the U.S. is low, and has declined in recent decades (Hanitzsch et al., 2018).
  • Partisan trust gaps: Republicans and Democrats differ significantly in trust in different institutions and media sources. This creates "trust asymmetries" where fact-checkers affiliated with one political side lose credibility among the other.
  • Fact-checker credibility: Only half of Americans believe fact-checkers "deal fairly with all sides"; 48% believe they "tend to favor one side" (Pew, 2019b). This is before considering partisan affiliation effects.
  • COVID-19 institutional trust: During the pandemic, trust in CDC and WHO varied by political ideology, undermining their effectiveness as unified risk communicators.

Building and maintaining trust

Risk communication research identifies strategies for trust-building: - Transparency: openly acknowledging uncertainty, limitations, and conflicts of interest. - Competence: demonstrating expertise and accuracy over time. - Benevolence: showing concern for audience welfare, not partisan advantage. - Consistency: aligning words and actions; not contradicting previous statements without explanation. - Partnerships: fact-checking via highly-trusted institutions (e.g., CDC, WHO) rather than lower-trust outlets.

Key papers in this wiki

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