Abstract

This study measures the effect of partisan and polarizing social media messages on political trust and trustworthiness in Brazil and Mexico. We implemented two survey experiments with 2,400 respondents each, using a modified trust game to measure the effects of social media on two dimensions: trust (the belief that others will fulfill their pledges) and trustworthiness (fulfilling the pledges made to others). Our findings reveal a null social media effect on trustworthiness and a statistically significant decline in trust among users exposed to polarizing partisan messages. The decline in trust is larger if respondents actively like,share, or comment on the message. Results show that individuals are, on average, worthy of our trust, even if we do not trust them. These findings underscore the role of active engagement with social media content as a mediator in diminishing trust. The results also raise questions about the significant gap between trustworthiness and trust.