Anti-media expression by citizens: conservative summary sites, hostile media perceptions, and media trust in Japan

This study adopts a populism communication framework to examine the influences of conservative summary site use on trust in mainstream news organizations. Data from two-wave panel surveys show that reading conservative summary sites is positively related to hostile media perceptions. Hostile media perceptions are negatively related to trust in several Japanese news organizations. The association between conservative summary site use and hostile media perception is not dependent on information processing strategies.

Automated summary

This study explores the impact of conservative summary site use on trust in mainstream news organizations through the framework of populism communication. Findings suggest that using conservative summary sites is associated with hostile media perceptions, which in turn leads to decreased trust in Japanese news organizations. The relationship between conservative summary site use and hostile media perceptions is not influenced by information processing strategies.