The media freedom-credibility paradox

Abstract

News media in democratic states have been ascribed the important roles of disseminating information, providing a space for deliberation, and being a watchdog of the government. According to the libertarian theory of the press, a free press will engender a greater pluralism of information and opinions. An assumption that underpins free media is that citizens will have a high opinion of the media’s honesty, integrity, and responsibility. However, recent polls challenge this assumption. In the US, Gallup polls indicate that citizens’ trust in media is low despite the freedom accorded to the media. This paper focuses on what the authors call “The Media Freedom-Credibility Paradox” of media globally, meaning a free media is not necessarily a credible media. Using international scales from the Freedom House, Reporters Sans Frontières (Reporters Without Borders) Media Sustainability Index, and the Gallup poll, our analysis showed that there is no positive correlation between various global rankings of media freedom and rankings of credibility and trust in media. While greater human development and better governance were linked to more media freedom, they were not linked to more media credibility. This paper discusses these counterintuitive findings and present other variables that impact media credibility.

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