The Trump-era political environment in the United States is characterized by changes to our information environment, specifically discourse surrounding so-called "fake news," and knowledge of political scandals. We explore whether news trust or knowledge of Trump administration scandals impact individuals’ levels of internal, information, and external political efficacy. We find significant and surprising relationships between these measures and political efficacy outcomes. Results contribute to our understanding of how political efficacy is responsive to changes in the political environment.
AcockA.ClarkeH. D.StewartM. C. (1985). A new model for old measures: A covariance structure analysis of political efficacy. The Journal of Politics, 47(4), 1062–1084. https://doi.org/10.2307/2130807.
2.
BalchG. (1974). Multiple indicators in survey research: The concept ‘sense of political efficacy’. Political Methodology, 1(2), 1–43. http://www.jstor.com/stable/25791375.
3.
BaumgartnerJ.MorrisJ. S. (2006). The Daily Show effect: Candidate evaluations, efficacy, and American youth. American Politics Research, 34(3), 341–367. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X05280074.
4.
BeaumontE. (2011). Promoting political agency, addressing political inequality: A multilevel model of internal political efficacy. The Journal of Politics, 73(1), 216–231. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022381610000976.
5.
BeneM. (2020). Does context matter? A cross-country investigation of the effects of the media context on external and internal political efficacy. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 61(4), 264–286. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020715220930065.
CampbellA.GurinG.MillerW. E. (1954). The voter decides. Evanston, Ill: Row, Peterson, & Company.
9.
ChamberlainA. (2012). A time-series analysis of external efficacy. Public Opinion Quarterly, 76(1), 117–130. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfr064.
10.
ChamberlainA. (2013). The (dis) connection between political culture and external efficacy. American Politics Research, 41(5), 761–782. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X12473503.
11.
CraigS. C.NiemiR. G.SilverG. E. (1990). Political efficacy and trust: A report on the NES pilot study items. Political Behavior, 12(3), 289–314. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00992337.
12.
DavisN. T.HittM. P. (2017). Winning, losing, and the dynamics of external political efficacy. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 29(4), 676–689. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edw013.
13.
Delli CarpiniM. X. (2004). Mediating democratic engagement: The impact of communications on citizens' involvement in political and civic life. In KaidL. L. (Ed.), Handbook of Political Communication Research (pp. 395–434). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
14.
FinkelS. E. (1985). Reciprocal effects of participation and political efficacy: A panel analysis. American Journal of Political Science, 29(4), 891–913. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2111186
15.
GeersS.BosL.de VreeseC. H. (2017). Informed switchers? How the impact of election news exposure on vote change depends on political information efficacy. International Journal of Communication, 11, 1857–1878.
16.
Gil de ZúñigaH.DiehlT.Ardévol-AbreuA. (2017). Internal, external, and government political efficacy: Effects on news use, discussion, and political participation. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 61(3), 574–596. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2017.1344672.
GreenD. P.ZelizerA.KirbyD. (2018). Publicizing scandal: Results from five field experiments. Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 13(3), 237–261. https://doi.org/10.1561/100.00017094.
19.
HansenK. M.PedersenR. T. (2014). Campaigns matter: How voters become knowledgeable and efficacious during election campaigns. Political Communication, 31(2), 303–324. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2013.815296.
20.
HoppT. (2021). Fake news self-efficacy, fake news identification, and content sharing on Facebook. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2021.1962778
21.
JohnsonT. J.KayeB. K. (2003). A boost or a bust for democracy? How the Web influenced political attitudes and behaviors in the 1996 and 2000 presidential elections. Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 8(3), 9–34. https://doi.org/10.1177/1081180X03008003002.
22.
JungN.KimY.Gil de ZúnigaH. (2011). The mediating role of knowledge and efficacy in the effects of communication on political participation. Mass Communication and Society, 14(4), 407–430. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2010.496135.
23.
KaidL. L.FernandesJ.PainterD. (2011). Effects of political advertising in the 2008 presidential campaign. American Behavioral Scientist, 55(4), 437–456. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764211398071.
24.
KaidL. L.McKinneyM. S.TedescoJ. C. (2007). Introduction: Political information efficacy and young voters. American Behavioral Scientist, 50(9), 1093–1111. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764207300040.
25.
KaidL. L.PostelnicuM. (2005). Political advertising and responses of young voters: Comparison of traditional television and internet messages. American Behavioral Scientist, 49(2), 265–278. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764211398071.
26.
KenskiK.StroudN. J. (2006). Connections between internet use and political efficacy, knowledge, and participation. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 50(2), 173–192. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15506878jobem5002_1.
27.
KiousisS. (2001). Public trust or mistrust? Perceptions of media credibility in the information age. Mass Communication and Society, 4(4), 341–403. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327825MCS0404_4.
28.
KumlinS.EsaiassonP. (2012). Scandal fatigue? Scandal elections and satisfaction with democracy in Western Europe, 1977–2007. British Journal of Political Science, 42(2), 263–282. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000712341100024X.
29.
LeeF. L. (2018). The spillover effects of political scandals: The moderating role of cynicism and social media communications. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 95(3), 714–733. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699017723604.
30.
LuS.LuqiuL. R. (2020). Does political efficacy equally predict news engagement across countries? A multilevel analysis of the relationship among internal political efficacy, media environment and news engagement. New Media & Society, 22(12), 2146–2165. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819888417.
31.
MartinJ. D.MartinsR. J.NaqviS. (2018). Media use predictors of online political efficacy among internet users in five Arab countries. Information, Communication & Society, 21(1), 129–146. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2016.1266375.
32.
McDermottM. L.SchwartzD.VallejoS. (2015). Talking the talk but not walking the walk: Public reactions to hypocrisy in political scandal. American Politics Research, 43(6), 952–974. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X15577830.
33.
McKinneyM. S.ChattopadhyayS. (2007). Political engagement through debates. American Behavioral Scientist, 50(9), 1169–1182. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764207300050.
34.
McKinneyM. S.RillL.ThorsonE. (2014). Civic engagement through presidential debates: Young citizens’ political attitudes in the 2012 election. American Behavioral Scientist, 58(6), 755–775. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764213515223.
35.
McKinneyM. S.WarnerB. R. (2013). Do presidential debates matter? Examining a decade of campaign debate effects. Argumentation & Advocacy, 49(4), 238–258. https://doi.org/10.1080/00028533.2013.11821800.
36.
MoellerJ.de VreeseC.EsserF.KunzR. (2014). Pathway to political participation: The influence of online and offline news media on internal efficacy and turnout of first-time voters. American Behavioral Scientist, 58(5), 689–700. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764213515220.
37.
MoellerJ.KühneR.de VreeseC. (2018). Mobilizing youth in the 21st century: How digital media use fosters civic duty, information efficacy, and political participation. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 62(3), 445–460. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2018.1451866.
38.
MorrellM. E. (2003). Survey and experimental evidence for a reliable and valid measure of internal political efficacy. Public Opinion Quarterly, 67(4), 589–602. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3521695.
39.
MourãoR. R.ThorsonE.ChenW.ThamS. M. (2018). Media repertoires and news trust during the early Trump administration. Journalism Studies, 19(13), 1945–1956. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2018.1500492.
40.
MuralidharanS.SungY. (2016). Direct and mediating effects of information efficacy on voting behavior: Political socialization of young adults in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. Communication Reports, 29(2), 100–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/08934215.2015.1064537.
41.
NiemiR. G.CraigS. C.MatteiF. (1991). Measuring internal political efficacy in the 1988 national election study. American Political Science Review, 85(4), 1407–1413. https://doi.org/10.2307/1963953.
42.
OgnyanovaK.Ball-RokeachS. J. (2015). Political efficacy on the internet: a media system dependency approach. In Communication and Information Technologies Annual (Studies in Media and Communications, Vol. 9) (pp. 3–27). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
43.
OhH. J.LorZ.ChoiJ. (2021). News repertoires and political information efficacy: Focusing on the mediating role of perceived news overload. SAGE Open, 11(1) 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020988685.
44.
PinkletonB. E.AustinE. W.FortmanK. K. (1998). Relationships of media use and political disaffection to political efficacy and voting behavior. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 42(1), 34–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838159809364433.
45.
PinkletonB. E.AustinE. W.ZhouY.WilloughbyJ. F.ReiserM. (2012). Perceptions of news media, external efficacy, and public affairs apathy in political decision making and disaffection. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 89(1), 23–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699011428586.
46.
SweetserK.KaidL. L. (2008). Stealth soapboxes: Political information efficacy, cynicism and uses of celebrity weblogs among readers. New Media & Society, 10(1), 67–91. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444807085322.
47.
TedescoJ. C. (2007). Examining internet interactivity effects on young adult political information efficacy. American Behavioral Scientist, 50, 1183–1194. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764207300041.
48.
TedescoJ. C. (2011). Political information efficacy and internet effects in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. American Behavioral Scientist, 55(6), 696–713. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764211398089.
49.
ThompsonJ. B. (2000). Political scandal: Power and visibility in the media age. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
50.
UlbigS. G.MillerN. M. (2012). The Coingate effect: The impact of scandal on attitudes toward, state and federal political actors. The Social Science Journal, 49(1), 61–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2011.07.006.
51.
Van DuynE.CollierJ. (2019). Priming and fake news: The effects of elite discourse on evaluations of news media. Mass Communication and Society, 22(1), 29–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2018.1511807.
52.
WarnerB. R.GreenwoodM. M.JenningsF. J.BramlettJ. C. (2017). The effects of political social media use on efficacy and cynicism in the 2016 presidential election. In SchillD.HendricksJ. A. (Eds.), The Presidency and Social Media (pp. 106–122). New York: Routledge.
53.
WarnerB. R.Turner McGowenS.HawthorneJ. (2012). Limbaugh’s social media nightmare: Facebook and Twitter as spaces for political action. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 19(2), 257–275. https://doi.org/10.1080/19376529.2012.722479.
YorkC.PonderJ.D.HumphriesZ.GoodallC.BeamM.WintersC. (2020). Effects of fact-checking political misinformation on perceptual accuracy and epistemic political efficacy. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 97(4), 958–980. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699019890119.
