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Explaining News Trust in Social Media News during the COVID-19 Pandemic—The Role of a Need for Cognition and News Engagement

Author

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  • Ines Kožuh

    (Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Maribor, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia)

  • Peter Čakš

    (Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Maribor, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia)

Abstract

During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, people have, in many cases, acquired information primarily from social media. Users’ need to stay informed and the intensive circulation of news has led to the spread of misinformation. As they have engaged in news, it has raised the question of trust. This study provides a model on how news trust can be explained through a need for cognition and news engagement. Accordingly, 433 Slovenian social media users participated in our survey. Structural equation modeling revealed that (1) the lower the need for cognition and the more prior knowledge about COVID-19 users have, the more they believe that social media news comprises all facts about the disease; (2) the more users believe that news comprises all essential facts, the more they trust that the news depicts the actual situation about COVID-19 accurately; (3) the more users are interested in engaging with social media news, the more they trust that the actual situation about COVID-19 is depicted accurately. These findings may help authorities to frame messages about COVID-19 effectively. We suggest investing more effort in disseminating new scientific evidence about the disease to contribute to the accurate shaping of knowledge about COVID-19 among social media users.

Suggested Citation

  • Ines Kožuh & Peter Čakš, 2021. "Explaining News Trust in Social Media News during the COVID-19 Pandemic—The Role of a Need for Cognition and News Engagement," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:24:p:12986-:d:698413
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nicole M. Krause & Isabelle Freiling & Becca Beets & Dominique Brossard, 2020. "Fact-checking as risk communication: the multi-layered risk of misinformation in times of COVID-19," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(7-8), pages 1052-1059, August.
    2. Cong Liu & Yi Liu, 2020. "Media Exposure and Anxiety during COVID-19: The Mediation Effect of Media Vicarious Traumatization," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-15, June.
    3. Cristina M. Pulido & Laura Ruiz-Eugenio & Gisela Redondo-Sama & Beatriz Villarejo-Carballido, 2020. "A New Application of Social Impact in Social Media for Overcoming Fake News in Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-15, April.
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    1. Piper Liping Liu & Vincent Huang & Melannie Zhan & Xinshu Zhao, 2023. ""Nice You Share in Return": Informational Sharing, Reciprocal Sharing, and Life Satisfaction Amid COVID-19 Pandemic," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 165(2), pages 453-471, January.
    2. Mohammed Arshad Khan & Faisal Alhathal & Shahid Alam & Syed Mohd Minhaj, 2023. "Importance of Social Networking Sites and Determining Its Impact on Brand Image and Online Shopping: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-22, March.

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