Crisis of public trust and structural barriers in the “government to citizen” communication model

Abstract

Growing reliance on social media for public information raises concerns about declining trust and ineffective digital Government-to-Citizen (G2C) communication. This study examines the decline of public trust in government amid the growing use of social media as a primary source of public information. The research aims to analyse G2C digital communication practices, public responses to. This study employed a mixed methods approach, integrating qualitative data from interviews, focus group discussions, and digital document analysis with quantitative data collected through a survey of 200 respondents. The findings reveal that declining public trust is influenced not only by the rapid circulation of information on social media, but also by government communication practices that remain largely one way and insufficiently integrated across regional government institutions and official digital platforms. Meanwhile, the public tends to place greater trust in influencers and public social media accounts because they are perceived as more responsive, accessible, and relatable in delivering information. This study concludes that government public communication should be transformed into a more integrated, dialogic, collaborative, and participatory digital communication model through strengthening digital literacy and institutional communication capacity.