Trust in social media is associated with misperceptions about COVID-19

Abstract

Although social media is a primary means for the general public to access science and health information and can help increase public knowledge, empirical evidence is mixed. Beyond social media exposure, this study investigates whether trust in social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube is related to public knowledge about the coronavirus. The findings, based on data from a nationally representative sample of 3933 people in the United States, show that trust in Facebook and Twitter is negatively associated with knowledge of COVID-19, even after controlling for a number of traditional factors associated with scientific knowledge. Republicans' trust in Twitter contributes to this knowledge gap, albeit the interaction between Republican affiliation and Twitter trust is weak but significant. The findings indicate that, despite increased suppression of fake and misleading information by social media companies, misinformation on social media persists and may lead to harm.