The effect of institutional trust on the relationship between social media as an information resource and policy non-compliance: Dutch survey evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic

The abundance of information on social media, partly conflicting with government information, might negatively affect citizens’ compliance with policies. Based on Dutch representative survey data from the COVID-19 pandemic, we find that citizens who ranked social media as a more important information resource were generally less compliant with COVID-19 measures and less willing to get vaccinated. A higher ranking of social media is more strongly associated with non-compliance among citizens with lower levels of institutional trust. Based on these findings, we suggest that efforts to encourage compliance should focus not only on countering misinformation, but also on enhancing institutional trust. Points for practitioners: Citizens who ranked social media as a more important information resource on COVID-19 were less compliant with government COVID-19 measures and less willing to get vaccinated. This relationship was strongest among citizens with low levels of trust in the institutions of government involved in managing the pandemic. To enhance compliance with policy measures, government efforts should focus not only on countering misinformation, but also on enhancing trust in government institutions.