Trump Twitter

Paranoia runs deep… Media took a whacking in the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer as nearly six of ten (59 percent) of respondents in the Global 27 countries surveyed believe 1) Journalists are purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations, and 2) Most news organizations are more concerned with supporting an ideology or political position than with informing the public.

Look for an upswing in media trust in the next Edelman Barometer as the Twitter-less “Mr. Fake News” fades from the national scene.

Talk is cheap…Banking giant HSBC scored PR points in the environmental community last fall with its promise to become a “net zero” carbon emissions company by 2050.

A bunch of institutional investors now want the London-based bank to show the world how it expects to achieve that lofty goal.

HSBC, which is an advisor to Saudi Aramco, is Europe’s second largest financier of fossil fuels after Barclays, according to ShareAction, which promotes responsible investing.

The bank has provided more than $86.5B in fossil fuel financing since the 2016 Paris climate agreement.

ShareAction rounded up institutional investors in HSBC to sponsor a resolution at the April annual meeting calling it to publish net zero emissions goal targets and progress made toward meeting the goals beginning in 2022.

Jeanne Martin, senior campaign manager at ShareAction, told the FT that net zero ambitions by top fossil fuel financiers like HSBC are simply not credible if they fail to be backed up by fossil fuel phaseout plans.

If HSBC wants to talk the talk; ShareAction wants it to walk the walk.

The US Chamber of Commerce wants to help Joe Biden deliver on his promise to “Build it Back Better.” The Chamber and the Bipartisan Policy Center led a coalition of more than 130 business, labor and policy groups that kicked off a “Build by the Fourth of July” PR campaign on Jan. 14 to urge Congress to adopt “a fiscally and environmentally responsible infrastructure package” by Independence Day.

Tom Donohue, US Chamber CEO, said infrastructure “is not only one of the fastest and most direct ways to create new jobs and spur economic growth now, but also it will sustain the modern economy for the long term.”

Donald Trump campaigned on the promise to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure, but he lost interest in the project once he took office and refocused his energy on tax cuts for the rich and demolishing the Obama legacy. He did replace a small part of his "big beautiful border wall."

Biden has promised to invest in a “modern, sustainable infrastructure and sustainable engines of growth—from roads and bridges, to energy grids and schools to universal broadband.”

He’s got a strong political ally in the Build by the Fourth of July campaign. Can Biden deliver the goods? Will Republicans jump on his infrastructure bandwagon? My hunch is yes.