The voices we trust: Public trust in news and information about COVID-19 on Swedish Radio

Abstract

This article explores the question of trust in news and information about the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus of the article is on trust in radio news and the data are collected in Sweden during spring 2020. Two questions are asked: (1) to what extent do people in Sweden express trust in the radio as a medium, and radio news and information as a form of content? (2) How do people themselves explain and discuss their trust in the radio as a medium and in radio news and information? The article draws on both survey data and qualitative interviews in answering these questions. The results show that radio, together with television, is the most trusted medium in the population but that there are differences in the extent of trust within the population that are related to age, economic status and political affiliation. The qualitative interviews showed that the specificities of how radio is organized and the form and mode of expression of radio news can help explain the high trust in the radio medium during the COVID-19 pandemic.