Cognitive authorities of COVID-19 information: educational differences and outcomes of trust in health experts and social media influencers in Finland

Abstract

<p><span>Introduction</span><span>. This study investigates people’s trust in institutional healthcare </span><span>experts and social media influencers as sources of COVID</span><span>-19 information. Us</span><span>ing the </span><span>notion of ‘cognitive authority’, this study examines trusted information sources </span><span>during the pandemic, how the education level explains this trust, and how trusted </span><span>COVID</span><span>-19 information sources are associated with people’s attitudes towards </span><span>vaccines.</span><span></span><br></p><p><span>Method</span><span>. Data were collected through eight rounds of nationally representative </span><span>repeated cross</span><span>-sectional surveys in 2021. The data set included 8507 respondents </span><span>from Finland. </span><br></p><p><span></span><span>Analysis</span><span>. A descriptive analysis was conducted to understand how trust evolved </span><span>th roughout the pandemic. Then, linear probability models were employed to </span><span>analyse the factors shaping trust and determining vaccine intention. Finally, the </span><span>analysis examined the indirect effects of trust in the association between education </span><span>and vaccine uptak</span><span>e. </span><br></p><p><span></span><span>Results</span><span>. </span><span>Education explains trust in institutional experts or social media influencers: </span><span>Those with lower education are more likely to trust social media influencers, and </span><span>their trust in them is connected to negative attitudes towards vaccines</span><span>. </span><br></p><p><span></span><span>Conclusion</span><span>. The findings confirm that people rely on institutional experts and </span><span>healthcare professionals during a health crisis. Our primary concern is the 5% who </span><span>trust social media influencers and distrust health experts. The alternative </span><span>information and low trust in institutions presented</span><span> by social media influencers can </span><span>disproportionately affect citizens with a lower level of education.</span><br></p>