{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]],"date-time":"2026-05-05T12:36:19Z","timestamp":1777984579006,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":93,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,28]],"date-time":"2026-01-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769558400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001321","name":"National Research Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["93097"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["93097"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001321","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001659","name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["456602133"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["456602133"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001659","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of public trust in science, particularly in contexts with diverse cultural backgrounds such as South Africa. Given the increasing reliance on digital science communication and the formation of sub-publics, understanding how different groups of individuals perceive and trust science in this unique setting is crucial for developing effective communication strategies and addressing potential challenges to public trust. This study investigates South Africans\u2019 trust in science and contact with science, as well as perceived changes in trust in science due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a survey among South African online users and latent profile analysis, we identified four population groups (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009=\u20091,541) with varying levels of trust and frequency of contact with science: the\n                    <jats:italic>fully trusting (30%)<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>highly trusting (35%)<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>moderately trusting (28%)<\/jats:italic>\n                    , and\n                    <jats:italic>rather untrusting (8%)<\/jats:italic>\n                    . Differences in the patterns regarding the five theoretically derived dimensions of trust in science, namely expertise, integrity, benevolence, transparency and dialogue orientation, are subtle: Those who trust the most have particularly high values for benevolence; those who trust less place their highest value on expertise. Variations in self-perceived changes in trust in science resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic suggest differences among groups in how they interpret science communication. This could inform the development of targeted communication strategies. Furthermore, the results point to cultural specifics and indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a key event for public trust in science in South Africa.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0340881","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,28]],"date-time":"2026-01-28T18:29:18Z","timestamp":1769624958000},"page":"e0340881","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Trust in science during the COVID-19 pandemic: A typology of internet users in South Africa"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4334-5909","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Anne","family":"Reif","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lars","family":"Guenther","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Monika","family":"Taddicken","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Weingart","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0340881.ref001","volume-title":"\u00d6ffentlichkeit und Medien im digitalen Zeitalter: zwischen Differenzierung und Neu-Institutionalisierung","author":"O Jarren","year":"2017"},{"key":"pone.0340881.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"70","DOI":"10.1093\/ct\/qtad007","article-title":"From \u201cthe\u201d public sphere to a network of publics: towards an empirically founded model of contemporary public communication spaces","volume":"33","author":"A Bruns","year":"2023","journal-title":"Communication Theory"},{"key":"pone.0340881.ref003","unstructured":"European Commission. 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A Study of Public Trust in the United States, 1974 to 2010","volume":"77","author":"G Gauchat","year":"2012","journal-title":"American Sociological Review"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0340881.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"567","DOI":"10.5771\/1615-634x-2014-4-567","article-title":"Konflikt, Konkurrenz und Kooperation: Interaktionsmodi in einer Theorie der dynamischen Netzwerk\u00f6ffentlichkeit","volume":"62","author":"C Neuberger","year":"2014","journal-title":"M&K"},{"key":"pone.0340881.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.22323\/2.15050301","article-title":"Science communication and the issue of trust","volume":"15","author":"P Weingart","year":"2016","journal-title":"JCOM"},{"key":"pone.0340881.ref008","first-page":"817","article-title":"The Polls\u2014Trends. Americans\u2019 Trust in Science and Scientists","volume":"83","author":"NM Krause","year":"2019","journal-title":"Public Opinion Quarterly"},{"issue":"40","key":"pone.0340881.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2108576118","article-title":"Trust in scientists in times of pandemic: Panel evidence from 12 countries","volume":"118","author":"Y Algan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0340881.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.32872\/spb.4315","article-title":"Acceptance and adoption of protective measures during the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of trust in politics and trust in science","volume":"15","author":"S Dohle","year":"2020","journal-title":"Soc Psychol Bull"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0340881.ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1080\/13548506.2020.1772988","article-title":"Modeling compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines: the critical role of trust in science","volume":"26","author":"N Plohl","year":"2021","journal-title":"Psychol Health Med"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0340881.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"499","DOI":"10.1093\/scipol\/scac003","article-title":"Democratic and expert legitimacy: Science, politics and the public during the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"49","author":"P Weingart","year":"2022","journal-title":"Science and Public Policy"},{"key":"pone.0340881.ref013","author":"World Health Organization","year":"2021"},{"key":"pone.0340881.ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104343","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpubeco.2020.104343","article-title":"Revenge of the experts: Will COVID-19 renew or diminish public trust in science?","volume":"193","author":"B Eichengreen","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Public Econ"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0340881.ref015","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"94","DOI":"10.1080\/21515581.2022.2075373","article-title":"How representative surveys measure public (dis)trust in science: A systematisation and analysis of survey items and open-ended questions","volume":"11","author":"A Reif","year":"2021","journal-title":"Journal of Trust Research"},{"issue":"8","key":"pone.0340881.ref016","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"487","DOI":"10.1111\/jasp.13053","article-title":"Nudging (dis)trust in science: Exploring the interplay of social norms and scientific trust during public health crises","volume":"54","author":"I Borinca","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Applied Social Pyschol"},{"issue":"7848","key":"pone.0340881.ref017","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"34","DOI":"10.1038\/d41586-021-00542-w","article-title":"Pandemic: public feeling more positive about science","volume":"591","author":"EA Jensen","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"pone.0340881.ref018","article-title":"Wissenschaftsbarometer Corona Spezial","author":"Wissenschaft im Dialog","year":"2020"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0340881.ref019","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1515\/commun-2016-0012","article-title":"Who participates in the climate change online discourse? 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