Exposure to online news about air pollution and public trust in regulators in China: a moderated mediation analysis of perceived risk and perceived news credibility

Abstract

Public trust in regulators is critical to the effective management of environmental risks. This study proposes a model to explicate how people’s online news exposure, perceived risk, and perceived news credibility influence their trust in regulators concerning the issue of air pollution in China. An online survey showed that perceived risk fully mediated the relationship between online news exposure and trust in regulators. Through moderating the association between online news exposure and perceived risk, perceived news credibility also moderated the indirect effect: the negative indirect effect of online news exposure on trust in regulators via perceived risk was stronger when the level of perceived news credibility was high than when it was low. The results suggest that online news that attempts to make the public more conscious of air pollution hazards reduces public trust in regulators, especially when people perceive the news as highly credible. News media are supposed to inform the public of the issue and thus help air pollution management. However, the findings alert us that the amplification of public risk perception resulting from frequent online news exposure and the subsequent decline in public trust in regulators might impede the effective regulation of air pollution.