The role of the media in conspiracy thinking: trust in journalists is key for the politically distrustful

Abstract

This study explores the associations between the media, media-related political variables, and conspiracy thinking, utilizing representative data from 2,340 Czech adults. Trust in journalists is a pivotal media factor related to thinking less conspiratively. Higher trust in politicians is associated with lower conspiracy thinking. Additionally, the interaction between journalistic and political trusts shows that politically distrustful people who trust journalists have lower conspiracy thinking. These findings underscore the importance of comprehensively addressing media and political factors, emphasizing their interconnected impact on the understanding and mitigation of conspiracy thinking.