Media Trust and Persuasion

This study examines the effect of media use on media trust and persuasion using a randomized field experiment in collaboration with a public broadcaster in a democratic setting. By randomly increasing the subjects’ capacity for viewing its TV programs, we found that this treatment increased support for government policies. The effect was driven by individuals trusting that broadcaster more than other broadcasters. Further, we found a divergence in trust levels, indicating the self-reinforcing nature of media trust and persuasion, which we call *endogenous persuasion*. To understand the mechanism underlying these findings, we developed a model and tested the prediction.