Shifting Trust: Examining How Trust and Distrust Emerge, Transform, and Collapse in COVID-19 Information Seeking

Title of the Paper

Shifting Trust: Examining How Trust and Distrust Emerge, Transform, and Collapse in COVID-19 Information Seeking

Paper Information

• Subject Area: Social Informatics, Trust and Distrust Behavior in Crisis Research
• Keywords: Crisis Informatics, Information Behavior, Trust, Distrust, Misinformation, Information Infrastructure, Social Media, Mixed Methods, Longitudinal Study, COVID-19

Research Background and Questions

• Research Questions:

  • The authors observed that during the COVID-19 crisis, people faced a large volume of conflicting and time-sensitive information, making it crucial to quickly assess the trustworthiness and reliability of information sources and platforms.
  • Existing literature often assumes a static relationship between trust and behavior, overlooking the dynamic changes in trust and distrust during information evaluation.
  • The significant role of information platforms (e.g., social media, crowdsourcing systems, government websites) in shaping trust in information has not been deeply explored.
  • The role of traditionally marginalized groups (e.g., low socio-economic status populations) in the evolution of trust in COVID-19 information requires further investigation.

• Significance:

  • During the pandemic, information not only influenced public health risk perceptions but also shaped policy decisions and behavioral guidelines.
  • Inadequate information infrastructure could undermine trust in science and government institutions, thereby affecting pandemic control efforts.
  • The asymmetric risks faced by marginalized groups highlight the critical importance of understanding the role of trust in mitigating health disparities.

• Motivation and Related Work:

  • Previous studies primarily focused on the static composition of trust and its impact on behavior, without considering the dynamic evolution of trust over time.
  • This study addresses the gap by exploring the dynamics of trust and distrust formation through mixed methods, integrating digital information trust with socio-technical systems.

Solutions

• Methods and Solutions:

  • The authors employed mixed methods, including longitudinal surveys and semi-structured interviews, to study information behavior and trust dynamics during the pandemic, with a particular focus on low socio-economic status groups.
  • The survey design included multi-dimensional metrics such as frequency of platform use, trust levels, and information exposure.
  • By triangulating quantitative and qualitative data, combining statistical analysis with coding analysis, the study revealed the relationship between information use behavior and trust dynamics.

• Innovations:

  • Dynamic Perspective: Unlike traditional static studies, this paper explores the evolution of trust and distrust over time.
  • Focus on Marginalized Groups: The study fills a gap in understanding the role and differences of low socio-economic status groups in crisis information trust.
  • Mixed Methods: The combination of surveys and interviews to track long-term trust changes provides a richer, multi-dimensional research perspective.

Research Findings

• Specific Findings:

  • Trends in Platform Use: The study found that traditional media usage remained stable, while internet and social media usage declined over time, primarily due to information fatigue and distrust.
  • Trust Evolution: Participants' trust in social media information gradually shifted to distrust of the platforms as a whole (a "shift in trust target" from information to platforms).
  • Distrust in social media stemmed mainly from difficulties in trust repair, mixed information, and concerns about the potential negative impact of misleading information.
  • Compared to traditional media, some participants preferred volunteer-supported crowdsourced information systems like the COVID Tracking Project, perceiving them as less influenced by political or commercial interests.
  • Reduced Distrust: As the quality of information sources and infrastructure improved over time, participants' skepticism toward government and official sources diminished.

• Comparison with Existing Solutions and Advantages:

  • This study emphasizes understanding the dynamic changes in trust rather than focusing solely on the static relationship between trust and behavior, offering a more realistic and complex picture of trust formation.
  • Methodologically, the mixed methods approach integrates the breadth of quantitative survey data with the depth of qualitative interview data, providing a solid foundation for exploring the complexities of trust and information behavior.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results:

  • Longitudinal data analysis revealed a negative correlation between information exposure levels and distrust: the less exposure to information, the higher the level of distrust.
  • Interviews uncovered details about how trust formation is related to information production processes and data presentation, such as how inconsistencies and lack of transparency can damage trust.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  • This study is limited to the behaviors and attitudes of low-income populations in Massachusetts and Georgia, and the findings may not be fully generalizable to other countries or regions.
  • Future research should focus more on specific trust issues related to each type of information platform and explore how technology can be designed to alleviate information distrust.
  • Further studies should investigate the information behavior characteristics of populations with different socio-economic and educational backgrounds to deepen understanding of marginalized groups' information needs.

By exploring the complex mechanisms of trust and distrust formation and the role of information infrastructure during crises, this paper provides important insights for information dissemination and trust-building in future crisis responses.