News Credibility on Facebook: The Role of Media and Intermediary Trust and Their Interplay

Authors

  • Lukáš Slavík Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies, Department of Media Studies and Journalism Joštova 10, 60200 Brno, Czechia
  • David Lacko Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies, Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society Joštova 10, 60200 Brno, Czechia
  • Jakub Macek Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies, Department of Media Studies and Journalism Joštova 10, 60200 Brno, Czechia

Keywords:

news credibility, media trust, interpersonal trust, Facebook, experiment, ANCOVA

Abstract

On social network sites, news media have lost their dominance as news sources, as individual actors (family members, friends) play the role of news intermediaries. Since determining a news source and its trustworthiness is central to attributing news credibility, the distinction between institutional and individual news sources is crucial for audience members. Current research offers only partial and conflicting conclusions about the influence of source trust on news credibility. This experimental study (N = 702 2 × 3 between-subjects design) uses a customized environment simulating a Facebook Timeline to examine whether and how institutional trust in news media and interpersonal trust in news intermediaries contribute to news credibility. Using two-way analysis of covariance and two one-sided t-tests, we found only a small effect of media trust, while interpersonal trust and its combination with news media trust showed no effect. We discuss the implications of news consumption mechanisms on social network sites and their impact on informedness.

Downloads

Published

2025-02-11

Issue

Vol. 19 (2025)

Section

Articles