{"id":8908,"date":"2026-08-27T09:00:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T07:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/?post_type=hbi-projects&p=8908"},"modified":"2026-09-10T17:16:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T15:16:38","slug":"safeguarding-epistemic-trust-in-adolescents","status":"publish","type":"hbi-projects","link":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-projects\/safeguarding-epistemic-trust-in-adolescents\/","title":{"rendered":"Safeguarding Epistemic Trust in Adolescents: Conceptual Approaches and Policy Options"},"content":{"rendered":"

How\u00a0<\/span>do<\/span> digital media influence young people\u2019s trust in information and their democratic participation? This is the focus of the DFG-funded research project \u201cSETA \u2013 Safeguarding Epistemic Trust in Adolescents: Conceptual Approaches and Policy Options.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Trust is the unspoken prerequisite of any knowledge-based society. No one can verify whether a medication works, if a statistic is <\/span>accurate<\/span>, or if a video is genuine. We all rely on knowledge from trustworthy sources. The ability to\u00a0<\/span>reasonably trust<\/span>\u00a0others<\/span>\u2019<\/span> knowledge while seeing through dubious claims is under strain among young people in the age of digital misinformation. Many young people distrust traditional media outlets and primarily get their news from social media platforms, where they often <\/span>encounter<\/span> false, misleading, or dubious information. Studies show that adolescents\u2019 epistemic trust is unstable and that excessive credulity and blanket distrust increase their susceptibility to conspiracy theories.<\/span><\/p>\n

The interdisciplinary SETA project, carried out in collaboration with the Weizenbaum Institute, is part of the DFG Priority Program 2573, \u201cRethinking Disinformation (Re:DIS)<\/a>.\u201d The project examines whether and how the state should protect the epistemic trust of 13- to 17-year-olds without infringing on freedom of expression and information. While German youth media protection laws currently provide safeguards against fear, trauma, and socio-ethical disorientation, they do not address epistemic impairment. SETA aims to explore ways to close this conceptual and legal gap.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To this end, the project will develop a legal-normative framework for the state\u2019s duty to protect. This framework will be based on the Basic Law, the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The framework will define the potential scope and limits of the state\u2019s responsibility to ensure epistemic trust among minors. As part of a qualitative empirical study using focus groups, the research will examine how adolescents build and erode trust in the context of disinformation.\u00a0The results will be comprehensively reviewed\u00a0to systematically evaluate potential (counter)measures\u00a0from two perspectives: their benefits and the risks of abuse and infringement\u00a0with regard to\u00a0the fundamental rights of minors and other citizens.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, the project is sharing its findings with policymakers, civil society, and young people. Expected outcomes include <\/span>a viable<\/span>\u00a0model of government obligations to\u00a0<\/span>ensure epistemic trust among young people, robust empirical findings on the dynamics of epistemic trust among this group, and policy recommendations<\/span>\u00a0that are<\/span> consistent with fundamental rights that are resistant to abuse.<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo by The Jopwell Collection<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":8841,"template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-8908","hbi-projects","type-hbi-projects","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSafeguarding Epistemic Trust in Adolescents: Conceptual Approaches and Policy Options - Leibniz Institut f\u00fcr Medienforschung | Leibniz Institute for Media Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-projects\/safeguarding-epistemic-trust-in-adolescents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Safeguarding Epistemic Trust in Adolescents: Conceptual Approaches and Policy Options\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How\u00a0do digital media influence young people\u2019s trust in information and their democratic participation? 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