Media influence on public trust during crises: A comparative analysis of different media types and trust dimensions

Abstract

This study aims to reveal how media influence public trust during crises and whether these mechanisms vary by media type, trust dimensions, government levels, and regions. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study, we surveyed 31 provincial-level regions in China from April 22 to 28, 2020, analysed the data with Stata 16.0, and drew the following conclusions. First, the mechanisms by which social media and traditional media influence public trust differ significantly. Social media can only directly impact outgroup trust or reduce both government trust and outgroup trust by lowering citizens' perceptions of government performance (CPGP). In contrast, traditional media directly enhance public trust across all dimensions and can also indirectly increase trust by boosting CPGP. Second, traditional media affect trust in both local and central governments, while social media have no significant effect. Third, citizens' perceptions of central and local government performance play distinct roles in this process. Finally, the impact of media on public trust varies between urban and rural areas and across different regions.