Populist Attitudes and Misinformation Challenging Trust: The Case of Turkey

Abstract Understanding trust in experts and scientists is crucial, especially in testing the challenges posed by pre- and post-pandemic realities. Establishing trust in experts, scientists, and institutions is beset by challenges, exacerbated by widespread misbeliefs on various science-driven topics. This paper explores how misinformation, particularly in the context of populist politics that fosters anti-intellectualism, undermines trust in these authorities. Using observational data from Turkey, a context driven by strong polarization and populist politics, we demonstrate how populism increases the acceptance of misinformation, which, in turn, mediates the relationship between populism and trust, decreasing trust for experts, scientists, and institutions. The findings also reveal that the negative impact of frequent social media use on trust is mediated by the acceptance of misinformation. By presenting a comprehensive model linking science-related misinformation and populist attitudes to trust dynamics in a polarized environment, this study contributes to the literature on trust-building and science communication.