When Stories Are Not Enough: Narrative Trust as a Theoretical Perspective for Science Communication

Storytelling is often presented as a solution to problems of trust in science communication. Yet stories can attract attention without making science credible, meaningful, or legitimate. This commentary proposes narrative trust as a theoretical perspective for explaining when stories support public trust. Narrative trust emerges when four conditions align: intelligibility, credibility, cultural resonance, and legitimacy of mediation. The framework shifts attention from whether stories “work” to the communicative conditions under which science becomes understandable, believable, socially meaningful, and publicly actionable.