How Politicians’ Attacks on Science Communication Influence Public Perceptions of Journalists and Scientists
In today’s “post-truth” world, concerns over political attacks on the legitimacy of expert knowledge and scientific facts are growing. Especially populist politicians frequently use their social media platforms to target science and journalism, arguing these are part of an “evil elite,” deliberately...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cogitatio
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Media and Communication |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6098 |
| _version_ | 1827978948705779712 |
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| author | Jana Laura Egelhofer |
| author_facet | Jana Laura Egelhofer |
| author_sort | Jana Laura Egelhofer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In today’s “post-truth” world, concerns over political attacks on the legitimacy of expert knowledge and scientific facts are growing. Especially populist politicians frequently use their social media platforms to target science and journalism, arguing these are part of an “evil elite,” deliberately misleading the public by spreading disinformation. While this type of discourse is highly concerning, thus far, we lack empirical evidence on how these accusations affect the public perceptions of scientists and journalists. To fill this gap, this study tests how politicians’ attacks affect citizens’ trust in journalists and scientists and the information provided by them. Furthermore, it investigates whether this discourse renders hostility towards journalists and scientists acceptable and whether there are effects on the image of politicians using such anti-science rhetoric. Findings suggest that the effects of politicians’ attacks on citizens’ perceptions of scientists and journalists are limited. Only individuals with strong anti-elitist attitudes are susceptible to disinformation accusations and indicate less belief in discredited scientific information. Interestingly, these individuals also perceive politicians using such attacks as more trustworthy and authentic. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T21:29:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a221c765fb9b43538a2e7dfe3f421524 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2183-2439 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T21:29:25Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Media and Communication |
| spelling | doaj.art-a221c765fb9b43538a2e7dfe3f4215242023-03-27T11:43:53ZengCogitatioMedia and Communication2183-24392023-03-0111136137310.17645/mac.v11i1.60982972How Politicians’ Attacks on Science Communication Influence Public Perceptions of Journalists and ScientistsJana Laura Egelhofer0Department of Media and Communication, LMU Munich, GermanyIn today’s “post-truth” world, concerns over political attacks on the legitimacy of expert knowledge and scientific facts are growing. Especially populist politicians frequently use their social media platforms to target science and journalism, arguing these are part of an “evil elite,” deliberately misleading the public by spreading disinformation. While this type of discourse is highly concerning, thus far, we lack empirical evidence on how these accusations affect the public perceptions of scientists and journalists. To fill this gap, this study tests how politicians’ attacks affect citizens’ trust in journalists and scientists and the information provided by them. Furthermore, it investigates whether this discourse renders hostility towards journalists and scientists acceptable and whether there are effects on the image of politicians using such anti-science rhetoric. Findings suggest that the effects of politicians’ attacks on citizens’ perceptions of scientists and journalists are limited. Only individuals with strong anti-elitist attitudes are susceptible to disinformation accusations and indicate less belief in discredited scientific information. Interestingly, these individuals also perceive politicians using such attacks as more trustworthy and authentic.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6098anti-elitist attitudesdisinformation accusationsincivilitymedia trustpolitical attackspopulist communicationscience communicationscience trust |
| spellingShingle | Jana Laura Egelhofer How Politicians’ Attacks on Science Communication Influence Public Perceptions of Journalists and Scientists Media and Communication anti-elitist attitudes disinformation accusations incivility media trust political attacks populist communication science communication science trust |
| title | How Politicians’ Attacks on Science Communication Influence Public Perceptions of Journalists and Scientists |
| title_full | How Politicians’ Attacks on Science Communication Influence Public Perceptions of Journalists and Scientists |
| title_fullStr | How Politicians’ Attacks on Science Communication Influence Public Perceptions of Journalists and Scientists |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Politicians’ Attacks on Science Communication Influence Public Perceptions of Journalists and Scientists |
| title_short | How Politicians’ Attacks on Science Communication Influence Public Perceptions of Journalists and Scientists |
| title_sort | how politicians attacks on science communication influence public perceptions of journalists and scientists |
| topic | anti-elitist attitudes disinformation accusations incivility media trust political attacks populist communication science communication science trust |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6098 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT janalauraegelhofer howpoliticiansattacksonsciencecommunicationinfluencepublicperceptionsofjournalistsandscientists |