The chapter concludes with the insight that the symptoms of a crisis of democracy are inadequately described by the decline of trust in representative institutions, and can only be fully understood from the perspective of trust or distrust in the media and its content. The crisis of trust in democratic politics is deeply rooted in communication. Firstly, like all social and political relationships of trust, it is communicated, and only becomes salient and relevant through the media. Secondly, a direct causal link is assumed, whereby the crisis of democracy is seen as being triggered by changes in communicative infrastructures or established intermediary institutions (such as journalism). Digitalisation and the new trend towards participatory forms of online news production have emphasised this reliance on public mediators of trust in democracy, with journalism continuing to play a pivotal role as an online news provider and interpreter. With the advent of digital media, people have developed more sophisticated attitudes of media consumption and invested in media literacy. For the average news consumer on legacy and social media, trusting some media while distrusting others is becoming an increasingly common experience.