The Role of Information Policy in Shaping Public Opinion on Corruption in the Visegrad Group Countries

Abstract

The state’s information policy that limits press freedom and conceals incidents of corruption is a significant threat to democracy. The work aimed to identify the relationship between corruption and information policy in the Visegrad Group countries. The research employed statistical analysis, correlation analysis, multiple regression, and thematic analysis. The research established worsening trends in Poland and Hungary regarding the corruption rate. At the same time, there is an improvement in the positions of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which may indicate an effective anti-corruption policy. Press freedom indicators show similar trends, decreasing for Poland and Hungary and increasing for the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The correlation analysis revealed a close relationship between corruption indicators and press freedom in Poland and Hungary. The multiple regression analysis revealed the influence of the Press Freedom Index on the corruption rate. These results indicate the dependence of the corruption rate in Poland and Hungary on the information policy of the countries regarding the restriction of media freedom. The obtained conclusions can be useful for civil servants in the course of developing an information policy that takes into account anti-corruption trends.