MEDIA AND POLITICAL TRUST IN LATIN AMERICA: AN INDIVIDUAL AND CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF THE ROLE OF NEWS ON GOVERNMENT AND STATE TRUST

Abstract

What is the relationship between news exposure and political trust in Latin America? Does this relationship change according to freedom levels of media systems and degrees of political polarization? To answer these questions, this study analyzes data from 10 Latin American countries included in the last round of the World Values Survey (2017-2020) (N = 11,769), as well as indices of governments' intervention in the news system and polarization by the V-Dem project. Statistical results show that, in general, exposure to news on social media is negatively related to trust in government and state institutions. However, context makes a significant difference: the higher the level of media freedom and polarization, the more negative this relationship becomes. In contrast, traditional media news use is positively associated with political trust, regardless of contextual factors. This confirms the importance of considering micro and macro news media contexts when analyzing trust in Latin America.