Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part M (2025)

This study examines the paradox between social media news consumption and public trust, analysing how usage frequency influences perceptions of credibility, sensationalism, and journalistic integrity. Based on a survey of 406 respondents and analyzed through MANOVA, ANOVA, and Bayesian correlation, the findings reveal a significant but small effect of usage on perceptions of sensationalism (P=.044), with moderate correlations existing between perceptions of lower credibility, sensationalism, and compromised journalism (mean r=.162 to .179). Crucially, the frequency of use showed negligible direct relationships with perceptions of credibility (r=.016), difficulty distinguishing news (r=-.026), or compromised journalistic practices (r=-.039), indicating that critical public perceptions are interrelated yet decoupled from personal consumption intensity. This suggests that societal critique of social media news has crystallized into a widespread ‘ambient awareness’ a generalized climate of skepticism that transcends individual usage patterns prompting a re-evaluation of how media trust is formed in the digital era.