Resistant and Misinformed: Understanding the Role of Elite Perceptions and Resistance Strategies Against COVID-19 Reporting in Legacy Media in Adopting COVID-19 Misperceptions

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals strongly relied on legacy media for current information. At the same time, parts of the population grew increasingly critical of the evidence presented in legacy media, leading them to resist reported facts. This study examines how and under which circumstances audiences resist journalistic evidence and adopt misperceptions about COVID-19. We theorize that citizens’ perceptions of elite manipulative intent drive resistance against legacy media reporting on COVID-19 and COVID-19 misperceptions. We tested this relationship across two panel studies in Austria. In Study 1 (NTime1 = 731, NTime2 = 416), we found that perceptions of elite manipulative intent only explained citizens’ misperceptions when their level of anxiety was low. In Study 2 (NTime1 = 912, NTime2 = 511), we reexamined this relationship and additionally included four resistance strategies against legacy media reporting as potential mediators. We found that perceptions of elite manipulative intent spurred counterarguing against and source derogation of legacy media. Overall, our findings suggest that citizens’ suspicion that elites have ulterior motives helps explain individuals resisting reported facts on COVID-19 and adopting alternative narratives.