The Impact of Misinformation and Preferences of News Sources on Institutional Trust Perception in the COVID-19 Process

OpenAlex · English

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the flow of misinformation that appeared in the mass media and especially on social media and was defined as “Infodemic” by the World Health Organization (WHO). In this study, the relationship between the level at which 1.319 social media users in Turkey have been exposed to misinformation during the COVID-19 process, and their views on which sources spread suspicious and misinformation the most and the level of trust in institutions during the pandemic process were investigated. Participants followed developments in the pandemic on social media; 61% were exposed to false information about COVID-19 every day, and most encountered suspicious information on Facebook and Twitter. Social media users who participated in the study found that the institutions they least trusted were the World Health Organization (WHO), pharmaceutical companies, political opposition of Turkey, and traditional media.