Some give more credit to certain media than to others, while a large proportion of respondents consider all media as part of the same unreliable media system. In contrast, respondents expressed much more favorable opinions about digital platforms . Despite reservations about data privacy issues, these platforms are attractive because of their practical advantages in everyday life. Platforms often generate positive opinions because they are seen as allowing people to create or maintain social connections and fulfill practical functions in everyday life. The respondents' trust varies depending on the topics covered.
The distrust of politicians, widespread among this segment of the population, has often extended to the media relaying their words, even for information purposes. Others accuse the media of inconsistency, perceiving inconsistencies in the information linked to the media's supposed complacency with power. In practice, respondents often make quick judgments about the reliability of the information they see. They rely on the limited information they have, using mental shortcuts. Many respondents referred to the importance of their " intuition " when it came to determining the reliability of information and rejected twitter data news media that they considered biased, manipulative or even corrupt: "In the past, the television media did what they [the politicians] wanted.
They still do. They are no longer credible." – Glauber Judging what is trustworthy: the main shortcuts used to make sense of information on platforms To sift through the vast volumes of information encountered on platforms, individuals develop processing strategies that lead to conclusions they would not have drawn if they had been more attentive. The Reuters study sought to examine these shortcut strategies , classifying them into five broad areas. Media familiarity and reputation In the shortcuts most mentioned by respondents, the perception and reputation of a brand would reinforce the degree of trustworthiness in their eyes .
Conversely, when participants are exposed to information from sources they have never heard of, they tend to completely ignore the information or to distrust it, as mentioned by one of these participants: “I’ll only choose the ones I’ve heard of before. For example, I’ve never heard of Sky News, so I might not click on it. Then the Independent, I haven’t heard of it, so I might not click on it.” – Preeti Familiarity and trust are often reinforced by repeated interactions with the same source, which would create a sense of security and comfort.