Concerns about the low public trust in U.S. media institutions have recently deepened amid increasing partisan polarization, large-scale digital disinformation campaigns, and frequent attacks on the press from political elites. This study explores the social factors that shape our trust in mainstream news sources. An examination of longitudinal network data from thirteen residential student communities highlights the importance of interpersonal influence on views about the media. The results show that the media trust of participants is predicted by the trust scores of their online and offline social contacts. The most robust and consistent effect comes from face-to-face interaction with politically like-minded conversation partners. Among online social ties, the analysis finds effects from contact with others who distrust the media but not from communication with people who report high levels of media trust.

中文翻译：

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媒体信任的社会背景：网络影响模型

由于党派分化加剧、大规模的数字虚假信息宣传活动以及政治精英对媒体的频繁攻击，公众对美国媒体机构信任度低的担忧最近加深了。本研究探讨了塑造我们对主流新闻来源的信任的社会因素。对来自 13 个住宿学生社区的纵向网络数据的检查强调了人际影响对媒体观点的重要性。结果表明，参与者的媒体信任是通过其在线和离线社交联系人的信任分数来预测的。最强大和一致的效果来自与政治上志同道合的对话伙伴的面对面互动。在在线社交关系中，