The effects of social media criticism against public health institutions on trust, emotions, and social media engagement.

ABSTRACT: In recent years, trust in US public health and science institutions has faced unprecedented declines, particularly among Republicans/conservatives. To what extent might institutional criticism on social media be responsible for such politically polarized declines in institutional trust? Two online survey experiments (total N = 6,800), using samples roughly reflective of the US adult population, examined the effects of key types of criticism against the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The results suggest that just a single exposure to any of the key types of criticism was sufficient to undermine institutional trust. While an institutional rebuttal was partially able to reverse these effects, residual declines

SUBMITTER: Lee JY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12232729 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature