Does media diet diversity affect media trust? An investigation into their connections

Media trust is a crucial element in societies, influencing how citizens perceive and engage with political information. Previous research has established connections between media trust and factors such as media use, political ideology, and institutional trust. However, the effects of media diet and cross-ideological media use on media trust remain underexplored. This study investigates the association between media trust and the use of media from a variety of ideological spectrums. Results suggest that media trust is associated with ideology, partisanship, political interests, populist beliefs, and institutional trust. While overall media diet diversity positively predicts media trust, cross-ideological media consumption decreases it. Both media diet diversity and cross-media use diversity moderate the relationship between trust and populism.