Polls indicate that individuals trust scientists to act in the public's best interest far more than they trust mainstream media to act in the public's best interest.

76% of respondents said they had trust in scientists while only 38% trusted mainstream media.


Trust in Mainstream Media VS. Trust in Scientists

A 2002 study by Devos et al. found that participants who highly valued stability and preservation of tradition were more likely to trust institutions (such as the media) than those who highly valued independent thought.

Personal Values and Trust in Institutions

According to Gil & Artz (2007) the criteria that people use (often unconsciously) to determine the trustworthiness of online information includes:
- topic
- context 
- criticality
- popularity
- authority
- direct experience
- recommendation
- related resources
- provenance
- user expertise
- bias
- incentive
- limited resources
- agreement
- specificity
- likelihood
- age
- appearance
- deception
- recency

Criteria Used to Determine the Trustworthiness of Online Information 

Verma, Fleischmann, & Koltai (2017) performed an experiment in which they presented participants with simulated Twitter posts containing a scientific claim and one of the following: a hyperlink to a scientific article, a hyperlink to a mainstream media site, a hyperlink to a fake news site, a hidden hyperlink, or no hyperlink. They then compared how likely those with specific values were to click on or trust the different types of links.

Values and Trust in Different Sources of Information Experiment

Although mainstream media has traditionally been viewed as more credible and a trustworthy source for health and news information, few people have confidence in the media to act in the public's best interest

Pepperdine University

A majority of Americans believe traditional news sources are knowingly publishing incorrect or misleading information.

Attributing fake news to intentional deception

Verma, N., Fleischmann, K., & Koltai, K.S. (2017). Human values and trust in scientific journals, the mainstream media and fake news. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 54, 426 - 435. https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.2017.14505401046.

Human Values and Trust in Scientific Journals,
the Mainstream Media and Fake News

It is more cognitively appealing to attribute fake news to intentional deceit because humans crave a worldview in which structure and predictability exist. Assuming intentional malice makes fake news more predictable than attributing fake news to random error.

Why attributing fake news to intentional deception is appealing

Individuals high in PNS are more likely to attribute fake news to willful deception than those with lower levels of PNS. Studies found a consistent positive relationship (causal and correlational) between PNS and the belief that news sources actively try to deceive their audiences. This finding was true for situations when the information supported and combatted one's existing beliefs.

The causal relationship between high PNS and attributing fake news to willful deception

1. Stimulate feelings of structure and control. This can be done by prompting one to consider a time when they felt a high level of control in their life. Social media also provides a sense of structure - individuals can interact with people they know and curate a personal stream of information.

2. Encourage individuals to tailor their social media usage and settings to their preference. This may increase feelings of control and structure which then decreases attributions of intentional deception. (The downside to this is that as social media becomes more tailored to peoples' preferences, they receive their sense of control from a filter bubble).

3. Increase the public’s trust in journalism. This can be done by improving transparency and general understanding of journalistic practices.

4. Redirect one’s desire for structure away from news media.


Ways to mitigate attributions of intentional deception

Breaking it down politically:
- 92% of Republicans
- 79% of Independents
- 53% of Democrats 
believe that traditional news media intentionally attempts to deceive or mislead the public.

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