Establishing Trust in Experts During a Crisis: Expert Trustworthiness and Media Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Existing research on factors informing public perceptions of expert trustworthiness was largely conducted during stable periods and in long-established Western liberal democracies. This article asks whether the same factors apply during a major health crisis and in relatively new democracies. Drawing on 120 interviews and diaries conducted during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Serbia, we identify two additional factors not acknowledged in existing research, namely personal contact with experts and experts’ independence from political elites. We also examine how different factors interact and show how distrust of experts can lead to exposure to online misinformation.

How to fulfill the expert role in public dialogue: The Dutch dialogue on human germline genetic modification as a case

“…Moreover, factors that determine trust in experts may differ between populations and/or vary depending on the topic. Mihelj et al (2022) examined trust in experts in times of COVID-19 within a relatively understudied population (inhabitants of four east European countries characterized with generally low levels of trust in science). They found additional factors (positively) related to trust in experts, i.e., perceptions of an expert's political independency and whether one knew an expert personally.…”

Expert voices in the news reporting of the coronavirus pandemic: A study of UK television news bulletins and their audiences

“… Mellado et al, 2021 ), rarely has research combined a systematic content analysis of sourcing patterns with an assessment of public attitudes towards the sources speaking in the news. A vast body of research in recent years has been concerned with public perceptions of expertise ( Dommett and Pearce, 2019 ) which have attracted renewed scholarly interest in the context of the coronavirus pandemic particularly in relation to the salient issue of public trust in expertise ( Mihelj et al, 2022b ). Our study draws on such a combination of perspectives to explore new empirical lines of inquiry about the relationship between audience expectations and news media practices.…”

“…Despite experts and scientists being the target of anti-elitist sentiments associated with a rise in populism in many countries in recent years ( Mede and Schäfer, 2020 ), survey data found broadly positive public attitudes towards experts across many countries ( Dommett and Pearce, 2019 ) persisting throughout the pandemic ( Nielsen et al, 2021 ). Yet, the highly politicised nature of the crisis has raised public concerns about the independence of the advisory process in some countries ( Mihelj et al, 2022b ). At the same time, while the statement ‘following the science’ has been used by UK politicians on many occasions, research has revealed discrepancies between government and scientific advisers in understanding of the science ( Colman et al, 2021 ) or in the choice of course of action ( Newton, 2020 ).…”

“…Studies drawing on qualitative methodologies have been comparatively more sporadic, yet they have contributed to nuanced understandings of news habits in lockdown ( Mihelj et al, 2022a ) and of public perception of trustworthiness. For example, in a study drawing on diaries and interviews, Mihelj et al, 2022b found that lack of independence from political elites was a key factor contributing to distrust in experts in relatively new Eastern European democracies. Further studies have demonstrated that television audiences display sophisticated critical readings of media coverage( Kyriakidou et al, 2022 ).…”

Representing agency and action in the #storiesfromvaccination governmental campaign in Romania. A multimodal approach

“…On the other hand, socio-political factors in a specific region may play a significant role in the citizens' reluctance toward experts. This is the case in Eastern Europe, one of the regions with the lowest levels of trust in science (Wellcome Global Monitor 2020), where the rise of populism may have influenced the citizens' distrust of specialists (Mihelj et al 2022). Having one of the highest distrust rates in national authorities (Haerpfer et al 2022), Romania, along with Bulgaria had the lowest vaccination uptake in the first months after the COVID-19 vaccination campaign started (Walkowiak et al 2021).…”