Přehled o publikaci

amp; Livingston, 2018), further deepens distrust and fuels anti-system sentiments (Schwarzenegger, 2021). Considering this spiral of growing distrust, we investigate individuals susceptible to disinformation (e.g. Hameleers, 2022). Our study, based on six focus groups conducted in Czechia (2023), examines how individuals with low trust in government and mainstream media engage with false information and how it shapes their perceptions of the political and informational landscape. Findings show a widespread belief that political and media elites form a homogeneous group that overlooks public concerns, fueling alienation and apathy. However, this distrust does not merely lead to rejecting mainstream sources or consuming alternative ones; instead, individuals expand their media repertoires, seeking out a wider range of sources and relying on personal experience as a basis for evaluating information. Whereas elites are seen as unresponsive, interpersonal discussions are trusted. Participants describe a process of “puzzle-building,” piecing together fragmented information as an individual response to an untrustworthy system. This self-reliant approach reduces engagement with the system, leaving them critical, frustrated, and demotivated to participate, threatening a society that is both distrustful and inactive.