Richard Edelman says the U.S. is living in an “era of information bankruptcy” as leaders lie to the public, which views media outlets as politicized and biased.
“The result is a lack of quality information and increased divisiveness,” he said in releasing the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer.
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Edelman believes the Jan. 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol and the fact that only a third of Americans plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine highlights the dangers of misinformation. Fifty percent of Americans believe the country is in the grip of a “cold civil war,” according to the Barometer.
Business (61 percent) replaced government (53 percent) as the most trusted institution since the mid-May update of the Barometer.
The record-breaking time to develop the COVID-19 vaccine and ability to shift to a work-from-home environment sparked the upswing in business trust.
“Guarding information quality” at 5.8 percent ranks as the top action that can “increase likelihood” of trust. That’s followed by embracing sustainable practices (5.7 percent), robust COVID-19 health and safety response (4.8 percent), driving economic prosperity (4.7 percent) and long-term thinking over short-term profits (4.6 percent).
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The Barometer gauged the trust levels of Biden and Trump supporters following the November election.
It found a 19 percent overall trust gap between Biden voters (53 percent) and Trump backers (34 percent).
Both factions recorded the same level of trust in business (55 percent), but split on trust in government (45 percent for Biden, 30 percent for Trump).
There was a yawning gap (39 percent) in trust in the media. Fifty-seven percent of Biden voters trust the media, compared to 18 percent for Trump people, which was a 15 percent plunge from the 2020 Barometer update.
Even though a majority of consumers are turning to social media as their preferred source of breaking news, issues surrounding trust and the quality of social media content remain a concern for many of them.
While PR pitches play a major role in shaping what stories journalists cover, Muck Rack’s “State of Journalism 2026” report says that there are several ways PR pros could improve the chance of their pitches making it on to a media platform.
Internal communications have become a key element in how well organizations are able to negotiate change, according to a new report from Gallagher Communications Limited. That makes change communications targeted at employees more important than ever. 
The deadline for O'Dwyer's 2026 rankings of PR firms, a benchmark study of the growth of the industry since 1970, is Mon., Mar. 16. Show your expertise in 23 PR specialties. Rankings are also tabulated by 14 cities and regions.
Zeno Group releases a report showing that while communications are a bigger factor than ever in strategy, growth, risk and workforce decisions for companies, most communications leaders don’t think they are totally ready for what lies ahead.
