"Lügenpresse" – a word that since the rise of Pegida stands for a growing mistrust in media coverage. At the same time there seems to be a general decrease in trust in different systems like politics and democracy. This thesis tries to answer the question how trust in media, trust in the political and democratic system and personal and political attitudes are connected and how the reception of media coverage is influenced by different attitudes and trust in the media. The theoretical frame

more »

... s theories of trust by Luhmann (2014) and Kohring (2001) and the relationship between trust (Ariely, 2015; Tsfati/Ariely, 2015) and different political points of view (Lee, 2010), followed by the concept of the hostile media effect (Gunther/Schmitt, 2004; Matthes/Beyer, 2015; Choi/Yang/Chang, 2009). The method chosen to answer the research question was an experimental questionnaire with differently framed articles concerning the topic "refugees and the admission of refugees in Austria". The results show that trust in media and politics is generally low. Besides this, conservative participants tend to mistrust the media more and have a more negative perception of democracy. Results also show that mistrust in democracy has a negative influence on media trust. Looking at specific media coverage the study shows that conservative persons and participants with a negative attitude towards refugees are internally divided. They tend to believe that press coverage is following a liberal bias and favours a positive coverage of refugees in Austria, but also interpret facts in a way that supports their own opinion.