ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses media's potential for influencing both trust and distrust among individuals in society, and its consequences for democracy. It shows how different media systems can explain the variation in trust in media. The chapter also shows how trust in media has a potential for both increasing and decreasing over time, and is not therefore something one can expect to be stable. It suggests that the new media environment does not necessarily imply the end of trust in mainstream media nor does it imply increased trust in non-mainstream news. From a deliberative democratic perspective, it is important for mainstream media to search for ways to curb hostile media effects and to increase trust. The term "truthiness" has been coined to describe this tendency. Jeffrey T. Jones concludes that "truthiness is the product of a political culture in which citizens are full participants in a will to believe".
