Political identity, algorithmic news exposure, and trust in digital media: the sequential mediating associations of motivated reasoning and misinformation susceptibility.

BACKGROUND: Digital media have become a major environment in which citizens encounter political news, evaluate public affairs, and form judgments about information credibility. In algorithmically mediated news environments, trust in digital media may depend not only on platform exposure but also on how users process identity-relevant political information. OBJECTIVE: This study examined how political identity and algorithmic news exposure were associated with trust in digital media through motivated reasoning and misinformation susceptibility. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 420 adult digital news users recruited through an online survey panel. Political identity, algorithmic news exposure, motivated reasoning, and trust in digital media were measured using multi-item scales. Misinformation susceptibility was assessed using a composite score derived from self-report items and a headline judgment task containing accurate and misleading political or public-affairs headlines. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling with 5,000 bootstrap samples. PROCESS Model 6 was used as a robustness check. Age, gender, education, political interest, digital news use frequency, and media literacy were included as control variables. RESULTS: Political identity was positively associated with motivated reasoning (β = 0.359, p < 0.001), and algorithmic news exposure was also positively associated with motivated reasoning (β = 0.115, p = 0.010). Motivated reasoning was positively associated with misinformation susceptibility (β = 0.335, p < 0.001). Misinformation susceptibility was negatively associated with trust in digital media (β = -0.283, p < 0.001). The sequential indirect association from political identity to trust in digital media through motivated reasoning and misinformation susceptibility was statistically supported (β = -0.034, 95% CI [-0.053, -0.019]). The corresponding sequential indirect association from algorithmic news exposure to trust in digital media was also supported, although weaker in magnitude (β = -0.011, 95% CI [-0.021, -0.003]). The direct associations from political identity and algorithmic news exposure to trust in digital media were not statistically supported after the mediators and controls were included. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that trust in digital media is associated with both identity-based reasoning and algorithmically structured news exposure, but primarily through motivated reasoning and misinformation susceptibility. The study suggests that trust in digital media is associated with cognitive and informational processes, such as motivated reasoning and misinformation susceptibility, rather than functioning solely as a direct correlate of platform use or political identity.