Does transparency in lobbying impact trust and perceptions of integrity of interest groups?

What do citizens think of lobbying when it is visible? Despite the growing interest for lobbying and public opinion research in political science, little is known about citizen’s attitudes towards interest groups, especially after legislation making lobbying transparent is passed. Using data from a pre-registered survey experiment conducted with a panel of 580 participants from the Republic of Ireland, our study shows that when exposed to information about lobbying conducted by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and business organisations, citizens do not improve their evaluations of interest groups. More specifically, the disclosure of lobbying information found on transparency registers is not associated to an increase of trust and perception of integrity of NGOs and business groups. Moreover, citizen characteristics such as political interest, political ideology and previous attitudes do not appear to moderate the effects of lobbying transparency. Despite its null findings, the study adds much needed clarity to how citizens feel about lobbying. Surprisingly, against the general expectations found in the transparency and trust literature, information about lobbying does not trigger changes in evaluations of interest groups. The study, however, also reveals that lobbying transparency does not backfire. This may be a first indication that the generally-held assumption that citizens distrust all lobbying is gone. This adds a new perspective to the recent debate on how public opinion responds to interest group behaviour.