Trust and authority in relational geography

Most of what ordinary citizens know about science, economic, political and current affairs are from people they trust, and who are recognized as having authority on the matter. There is now a significant body of work that treats acts of thinking, believing and legitimizing as interpersonal behavior. Relationality between the trustor and trusted shapes cognitive and social proximity. Similarly, authority is relational because exercise of authority requires an audience or following. Relationality influences how trust and authority are spatially practiced. Digital relationality privileges interactivities that may be datafied, and it helps forment affective communities that are attracted to the power of conspiratorialism and myths. Power hierarchy draws on trust to help cultivate certain habits and attitudes among communities by exploiting charisma. Distrust against a competitor or opponent may be strengthened by trolling. In turn, relational structures that have traditionally developed around epistemic authority are giving way to a more anti-democratic mode of charismatic authority. Charismatic authority draws on social media spaces of performativity to secure trust of misinformation.