Trust in political leaders is influenced by a panoply of factors, but one that is gaining ground as a result of the digitization of our society is new media. It is, therefore, worthwhile analysing if and how new media and trust are linked; knowing this could greatly shape political strategies in the future and could make new media users more aware of how their behaviour influences them, thus granting them a stronger feeling of control in their day to day lives. Through an interdisciplinary methodology, including the crafting of a survey and the examination of the data arising therefrom, this study centres on five countries: France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. Survey questions were chosen to measure trust in political leadership and possible correlations associated with new media. The results illustrate that new media could be a useful avenue in the future which should not be taken lightly.
Citation : Eduardo Gracias Baptista , Giovanni Menon, Deborah Kaut and Ogulcan Alkan (2021) The Puppet Master: Does New Media Lead to a Change in the Perceived Trustworthiness of Political Leaders in Central Europe?, International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research Methods, Vol.8, No.2, pp.1-19
Keywords: New media and society, Social media, central European politics., politics and media, trustworthiness
