Diverging associations of traditional versus social media with government trust

Trust in government and institutions is a cornerstone of functioningrepresentative democracies. While previous research documentednegative associations between social media use as a news source andinstitutional trust, temporal dynamics and moderating factors like ageand partisanship remain underexplored. We analyze a unique datasetcompromising 20 representative panel waves in the United States andGermany, each consisting of at least 1,500 participants (totaling inN=16,679 in the US, N=11,277 in Germany). We find that traditionalmedia use shows a consistent positive association with government trust.Social media use, by contrast, is generally associated with lower trust,especially when controlling for traditional media use. This is mostpronounced among older participants and opposition supporters. InGermany, evidence suggests a self-reinforcing feedback loop, wheresocial media use precedes declining trust. A deeper understanding ofthese dynamics is essential for democracies worldwide, particularly in thecontext of increasing social media use.