Abstract
Abstract The credibility of information on major social media platforms like Facebook, X, and YouTube is a significant public concern. This study investigated factors associated with U.S. adults' trust in information from these platforms. Specifically, it examined the association of users' views on misinformation restriction and their satisfaction with news experiences on trust, while controlling for demographic factors.
This cross-sectional study utilized data from the Pew Research Center's American Trends Panel (ATP). The final analytic sample consisted of 1,258 U.S. adults who use social media for news. A multivariable linear regression model was employed to assess the associations between the independent variables and trust.
The analysis revealed that support for misinformation restriction (p =.001) and higher user satisfaction (p
These findings show that user satisfaction and support for misinformation restriction are the main predictors of trust, but certain demographic differences also matter. Trust in social media information is not uniform; it varies by age, gender, education, race, and marital status. Therefore, strategies to build trust should improve platform governance and news experience, while tailoring public health messages to address the specific trust patterns within demographic groups.
Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4941-2112
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Chung, Sunghyun and Barry, Adam E. (2026) "Factors Associated with Trust in Social Media Information: An Analysis of Psychosocial and Demographic Correlates," Health Behavior Research: Vol. 9: No. 1.
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https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunghyun-chung-743139250/