Trust in information mediates the relationship between political orientation and perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The past few decades have experienced a decline in the use of traditional news sources as an increasing number of individuals rely on social media for information. Although this change has made it easier to obtain information, individuals often selectively expose themselves to information that confirms their beliefs. The current study examined if this pattern could explain political perceptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on past research, it would be expected that liberals and conservatives would hold differing views of the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans downplayed the pandemic and were more likely to consider it a hoax, while Democrats exaggerated the pandemic and were more likely to advocate for excessive measures. In this study, we collected two samples at different points during the pandemic in which we asked participants to indicate their political ideology, their perception of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the sources of information that they trusted. Our results indicated that trust in information sources mediated the relationship between political ideology and perceptions of the pandemic, suggesting that the informational sources that an individual trusted was a factor in determining perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.