Description of the Research project

(Digital) media are among the most important sources of information about science and scientific topics for most people in Germany. As trusted intermediaries, they not only convey information but also mediate public trust in science. This is where the DFG project “The Trust Relationship between Science and Digitized Publics II” (TruSDi II) comes in. Conducted as a collaboration between the University of Hamburg, LMU München, TU Braunschweig, and Bielefeld University, the project examines the trust relationship between science and (digitized) publics. TruSDi II is the successor project to TruSDi I and continues the research on trust in science while expanding it to include the socially relevant topics of climate change and artificial intelligence. To this end, the project continues a panel survey, investigates the effects of media use and media content on dynamic changes in trust, identifies individual trust-relevant key events, and considers the role of (digital) opinion leaders. Through this methodological triangulation across several research modules, the program aims to generate insights that help explain dynamic trust relationships and link these findings with the results of TruSDi I, thereby deepening the understanding of public trust in science.

 Under the direction of Dr. Anne Reif, the University of Hamburg project team plays a leading role in two research modules:

 As part of the first research module, the panel survey will be continued in order to examine stability and change in trust in science across five trust groups over multiple points in time, thereby enabling conclusions about long-term trends. In this second project phase, in addition to the groups related to trust in science in general, topic-specific trust groups will also be analyzed using a scale developed in TruSDi I. The aim is to determine the extent to which groups related to trust in climate science and AI research overlap with the overarching trust groups and how they differ from them. Furthermore, using an experimental design, the project examines the effect of the topical relevance of science journalism posts about climate change and artificial intelligence on social media on trust in science. The goal is to better understand the role of science communication in the formation of trust, as well as its effects on online engagement and behavioral intentions.

• Project duration: 2026–2028
• Third-party funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

Project members at the University of Hamburg

Dr. Anne Reif (Applicant and PI)
Jakob zur Heide, B.A.
Nele-Sophie Brebeck, B.A.

Project members at the TU Braunschweig

Prof. Dr. Monika Taddicken (Applicant and PI)
Maria Prechtl, M.A.

Project members at the LMU München

Prof. Dr. Lars Guenther (Applicant and PI)
Dr. Justin T. Schröder
Kristina Schnabl

Project members at the Universität Bielefeld 

Prof. Dr. Peter Weingart

Project partners (from left to right): Kristina Schnabl, Dr. Justin Tim Schröder, Prof. Dr. Lars Guenther, Prof. Dr. Peter Weingart, Dr. Anne Reif, Prof. Dr. Monika Taddicken and Maria Prechtl

Publications (selected):

•  Reif, A., Guenther, L., Taddicken, M., & Weingart, P. (2026). Trust in science during the COVID-19 pandemic: A typology of internet users in South Africa. PLOS ONE, 21(2), e0344001. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0344001
• Reif, A., Taddicken, M., Guenther, L., Schröder, J. T., & Weingart, P. (2026). Dynamics of trust in science among digitised publics: A two-wave panel study identifying trust groups. Journal of Trust Research, 1-28. doi.org/10.1080/21515581.2025.2600301
• Taddicken, M., & Reif, A. (2025). Science opinion leaders in digitized communication environments: Media use, trust in science, and conspiracy affinity. European Journal of Communication, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231251340802
• Reif, A., Schröder, J. T., Guenther, L., Taddicken, M., & Weingart, P. (2025). Identifying groups of trust in science in South Africa and Germany: A comparative study. In A. Fage-Butler, L. Ledderer, & K. H. Nielsen (Eds.), Science communication and trust (pp. 407–426). Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-1289-5_20 
• Reif, A., Taddicken, M., Guenther, L., Schröder, J. T., & Weingart, P. (2024). The Public Trust in Science Scale: A Multilevel and Multidimensional Approach. Science Communication, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470241302758
• Reif, A., Guenther, L. and Yokoyama, H. M. (2024). Public (dis)trust in science in digital media environments JCOM 23(09), E. https://doi.org/10.22323/2.23090501
• Schröder, J, T. & Guenther, L. (2023). Science and health journalism in the digital age and its implications on public trust [Angenommene Publikation]. In K. Walsh-Childers & M. McKinnon (Hrsg.), The Palgrave handbook of health and science journalism. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Reif, A. (2023). Twitternde Wissenschaftler*innen, Algorithmen und Desinformation: Die Bedeutung von Onlineumgebungen für die Wissenschaftskommunikation. In M. Schladebach & A. Thiele, Digitalisierung der Medienordnung. 1. Berlin-Potsdamer Konferenz zu interdisziplinären Rechtsfragen (S. 23-31). Mohr Siebeck.
• Reif, A., Schröder, J. T., Guenther, L., Taddicken, M. & Weingart, P. (2023). Wie sehr interessieren sich Internetnutzende in Südafrika für den Klimawandel? Unterschiede zwischen fünf Bevölkerungssegmenten mit verschiedenem Wissenschaftsvertrauen. In J. Wolling, M. Becker & C. Schumann (Hrsg.), NEU – Nachhaltigkeits‐, Energie‐ und Umweltkommunikation: Bd. 8. Klima(wandel)kommunikation: Im Spannungsfeld von Wissenschaft, Medien und öffentlicher Meinung (S. 80–101). Universitätsverlag Ilmenau. https://doi.org/10.22032/dbt.55228
• Guenther, L., Reif, A., Taddicken, M. & Weingart, P. (2022). Positive but not uncritical: Perceptions of science and technology amongst South African online users. South African Journal of Science. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2022/11102
• Reif, A. & Guenther, L. (2022). How representative surveys measure public (dis)trust in science: A systematisation and analysis of survey items and open-ended questions. Journal of Trust Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/21515581.2022.2075373