Media Trust Under Threat: Antecedents and Consequences of Misinformation Perceptions on Social Media

Authors

  • Marlis Stubenvoll University of Vienna
  • Raffael Heiss MCI Management Center Innsbruck
  • Jörg Matthes University of Vienna

Keywords:

misinformation, media trust, fake news, social media, social network

Abstract

Public concern over misinformation has reached worrying levels in recent years. This phenomenon stimulates a climate of information uncertainty under which individuals may also question high-quality information that is needed to sustain meaningful political debates. To address this issue, this panel study investigates antecedents of perceived misinformation exposure on social media and its consequences for media trust. We take a novel approach by examining 3 key factors that might lead to heightened perceived misinformation exposure (PME) among social media users: (1) their political knowledge, (2) their partisan strength, and (3) network characteristics. Even more importantly, we find that PME decreases media trust, and that this effect was especially pronounced among individuals with low political knowledge.

Author Biographies

Marlis Stubenvoll, University of Vienna

Marlis Stubenvoll (MA, Aarhus University/University of Amsterdam) is PhD candidate at the University of Vienna. Her research interests include media effects, motivated reasoning, and misinformation.

Raffael Heiss, MCI Management Center Innsbruck

Raffael Heiss (PhD, University of Vienna) is postdoctoral researcher at the MCI Management Center Innsbruck. His research interests include digital media use, information processing, and civic participation. He has co-authored the Social Media Political Participation Model.

Jörg Matthes, University of Vienna

Jörg Matthes(PhD, University of Zurich) is professor of communication science at the University of Vienna. His research interests include political communication, digital media use, media effects, and advertising. He has co-authored the Social Media Political Participation Model.Media Trust under Threat: Antecedents and Consequences of Misinformation Perceptions on Social Media

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Published

2021-06-14

Issue

Vol. 15 (2021)

Section

Articles

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