Trust in Government during COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh: An Analysis of Social Media Users’ Perception of Misinformation and Knowledge about Government Measures

ABSTRACT

The study aims to understand social media users’ trust in government during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. Social Media Users’ trust in government is analyzed based on their perceived misinformation and knowledge about government measures taken to deal with the pandemic at that earlier stage. The study found that social media users who perceive a lesser amount of misinformation have a higher knowledge of government measures. Consequently, more knowledge about those measures predicts a higher level of trust in government. The study also demonstrates that a higher level of trust in government can help people secure more knowledge about government measures amidst misinformation. The results suggest that predisposition to trust based on government performance evaluation, individual and societal level values and beliefs, and culture of trusting institutions could play a pivotal role in determining how people perceive misinformation and knowledge about government measures.

KEYWORDS:

• Bangladesh
• Covid-19
• knowledge
• misinformation
• trust in government

Acknowledgments

Authors thank Dr. Kazi ASM Nurul Huda, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Dhaka and Shehreen Amin, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, Jagannath University, Bangladesh for their valuable feedback on this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).