In Media We Distrust: The Interplay of Message, Context, and Media Trust on Campaign Message Effects

The internet allows politicians to deliver controlled messages via campaign websites, but citizens often turn to other sources (e.g., news websites) for political information. Using the cognitive response model as a framework, this article considers how varying contexts may affect the way citizens process candidate messages. We experimentally test the interaction of media trust, media context, and message content on evaluation of and support for a candidate. A national adult sample viewed a cand