AUTHOR=Neureiter Ariadne , Stubenvoll Marlis , Kaskeleviciute Ruta , Matthes Jörg TITLE=Trust in Science, Perceived Media Exaggeration About COVID-19, and Social Distancing Behavior JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health VOLUME=9 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.670485 DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2021.670485 ISSN=2296-2565 ABSTRACT=
For many individuals, the media function as a primary source of information about preventative measures to combat COVID-19. However, a considerable number of citizens believe that the media coverage about pandemics is exaggerated. Although the perception of media exaggeration may be highly consequential for individual health behaviors, we lack research on the drivers and consequences of this perception. In a two-wave panel study, we examined associations between trust in science, perceptions of media exaggeration about COVID-19, and social distancing behavior during the lockdown in Austria (