Media Trust and News Consumption in the Illiberal Public Sphere

Abstract

Chapter 4 examines how the patterns of news consumption outlined in the previous chapter relate to media trust. We start by providing a multi-layered mapping of media trust across the four countries, paying attention not just to the more commonly investigated generalized levels of media trust but also trust in individual news brands. We argue that in a context where generalized media trust declines, people adopt a pragmatic approach to media trust, seeking to follow news sources that may not be completely trustworthy, but nonetheless offer a more credible account than others. Second, we examine the relationship between media trust and news consumption and investigate why people consume media they distrust. Finally, we consider how citizens establish which media are trustworthy. The results suggest that in a context where the illiberal public sphere assumes a dominant position, the normative foundations of media trust start shifting, ultimately leading citizens to place trust in media not because they offer impartial or accurate coverage of public affairs, but because they provide an account of reality they personally agree with or—in the extreme case—because their account of reality is aligned with the one promoted by those in power.