Trust in government buffers the negative effect of rumor exposure on people's emotions.

ABSTRACT: Although we are surrounded by various kinds of rumors during the coronavirus disease pandemic, little is known about their primary content, what effect they might have on our emotions, and the potential factors that may buffer their effect. Combining qualitative (study 1 extracted 1907 rumors from top rumor-refuting websites using the Python Web Crawler and conducted content analysis) and quantitative (study 2 conducted an online survey adopting a three-wave design, N = 444) research methods, the current study revealed that government-related rumors accounted for the largest proportion of rumors during the outbreak stage of the pandemic and were positively associated with the public's negative emotions. We also found that trust in government negatively moderated the relationship bet

SUBMITTER: Yuan Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9362405 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature