<![CDATA[The rise of digital society has transformed how knowledge is produced, disseminated, and received in the public sphere, creating challenges for the scientific legitimacy of qualitative communication research. Interpretive processes and research narratives are often viewed as subjective and difficult to verify. The concept of trustworthiness developed by Yvonna S. Lincoln and Egon G. Guba has long served as a benchmark for qualitative research quality, yet its application often remains focused on procedural compliance rather than transparency in interpretation and meaning-making. This article develops the concept of epistemic transparency through a traceableness approach as an alternative model for strengthening the trustworthiness of qualitative communication research in the post-truth era. The study adopts a conceptual approach combining literature synthesis, epistemological reflection, and critical review of developments in interpretive communication methodology. The synthesis shows that research legitimacy requires not only methodological compliance but also openness in analysis, traceability of interpretation, and transparency in scholarly communication. Traceableness positions research as an epistemic process that readers can reflectively follow from data selection to scientific narrative formation. Knowledge legitimacy therefore depends on researchers' ability to explain openly how data, context, interpretation, and meaning production are interconnected. This approach is expected to strengthen methodological accountability, researcher reflexivity, and epistemic transparency in contemporary communication research.]]>
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