The 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer, based on 25-minute online interviews with 1,850 respondents drawn from a sampling of more than 33,000 respondents, found the “largest drop ever” in trust in government, business, media and NGOs.
Trust in media fell precipitously to 43% and is at all-time lows in 17 countries, while trust levels in government, at 41%, dropped in 14 markets and is the least trusted institution in half of the 28 countries surveyed, said Richard Edelman, president and CEO.
 |
The credibility of leaders also is in peril, he noted. CEO credibility dropped 12 points globally to an all-time low of 37 percent, falling in every country studied, while government leaders remain least credible at 29%.
The Barometer found that 53 percent of respondents believe the current overall system has failed them—it is unfair and offers little hope for the future—while only 15 percent believe it is working, and approximately one-third are uncertain. Even the elites have a lack of faith in the system, with 48 percent of the top quartile in income, 49 percent of the college-educated and a 51% majority of the well-informed saying the system has failed.
Gap Between General and Informed Public
The gap between the trust held by the informed public and that of the mass population has widened to 15 points, with the biggest disparities in the U.S. (21 points), U.K. (19 points) and France (18 points). The mass population in 20 countries distrusts their institutions, compared to only six for the informed public.
“The implications of the global trust crisis are deep and wide-ranging,” said Edelman. “It began with the Great Recession of 2008, but like the second and third waves of a tsunami, globalization and technological change have further weakened people’s trust in global institutions. The consequence is virulent populism and nationalism as the mass population has taken control away from the elites.”
Current populist movements are fueled by a lack of trust in the system and economic and societal fears, including corruption (40 percent), immigration (28 percent), globalization (27 percent), eroding social values (25 percent) and the pace of innovation (22 percent). Countries coupling a lack of faith in the system with deep fears, such as the U.S., U.K. and Italy have seen the election of Donald Trump, the Brexit vote and the failed Italian referendum.
Media “Echo Chamber” Emerges
The cycle of distrust, said Edelman, is magnified by the emergence of a media echo chamber that reinforces personal beliefs while shutting out opposing points of view. Respondents favor search engines (59 percent) over human editors (41 percent) and are nearly four times more likely to ignore information that supports a position they do not believe in.
Trust in traditional media fell five points to 57%, the steepest decline among platforms since 2012. Social media dropped three points to 41% while online-only media jumped five points to 51%.
People now view media as part of the elite,” said Edelman. “The result is a proclivity for self-referential media and reliance on peers. The lack of trust in media has also given rise to the fake news phenomenon and politicians speaking directly to the masses. Media outlets must take a more local and social approach.”
There is evidence of even further dispersion of authority. A “person like yourself” (60 percent) is now just as credible a source of information about a company as is a technical (60 percent) or academic (60 percent) expert, and far more credible than a CEO (37 percent) and government official (29 percent).
Business Could Make a Difference
Of the four institutions, business is viewed as the only one that can make a difference, according to respondents. Three out of four agree a company can take actions to both increase profits and improve economic and social conditions in the community where it operates. Moreover, among those who are uncertain about whether the system is working for them, it is business (58 percent) that they trust most.
Yet business finds itself on the brink of distrust, and perhaps most concerning for business is the perceived role the public sees it playing in stoking their fears. A majority of the global population surveyed worries about losing their jobs due to the impacts of globalization (60 percent), lack of training or skills (60 percent), immigrants who work for less (58 percent), jobs moving to cheaper markets (55 percent) and automation (54 percent).
“Business is the last retaining wall for trust,” said Kathryn Beiser, global chair of Edelman’s Corporate practice. “Its leaders must step up on the issues that matter for society. It has done a masterful job of illustrating the benefits of innovation but has done little to discuss the impact those advances will have on people’s jobs. Business must also focus on paying employees fairly while providing better benefits and job training.”
- Trust in business (52 percent) dropped in 18 countries, while NGOs (53 percent) saw drop-offs as high as 10 points across 21 countries.
- Employees, on average, are trusted 16 points more than CEOs on messaging around employee/customer relations (53 percent), financial earnings (38 percent), crises (37 percent), innovation (33 percent), industry issues (32 percent) or programs addressing societal issues (30 percent).
- Half of the countries surveyed have lost faith in the system, led by France (72 percent) and Italy (72 percent), Mexico (67 percent), South Africa (67 percent) and Spain (67 percent).
Methodology Explained
The 17th annual survey was conducted by research firm Edelman Intelligence and consisted of 25-minute online interviews from Oct. 13 to Nov. 16, 2016. The survey sampled more than 33,000 respondents consisting of 1,150 general population respondents ages 18 and over and 500 informed public respondents in the U.S. and China and 200 informed public respondents in all other countries across 28 markets.
All informed publics met the following criteria: ages 25-64, college-educated; household income in the top quartile for their age in their country; read or watch business/news media at least several times a week; follow public policy issues in the news at least several times a week.
Navigating the delicate balance between the art of perception and the science of strategic communication is paramount for fostering a positive corporate reputation.
City Parks Foundation is looking to hire a firm to handle PR connected to its arts programming, which includes New York City’s largest free outdoor festival, SummerStage.
Sacramento seeks a PR firm to develop a multi-media campaign to generate awareness of its Cannabis Opportunity Reinvestment and Equity program.
Fathers are drastically losing market share, particularly to mothers, but also to grandmothers and even to teenage babysitters and complete strangers.
Management's behavior and the ways in which organizations impact society are now widely responsible for our perceptions of companies, according to a global study released by FleishmanHillard. (7 reader comments)
Have a comment? Send it to 
No comments have been submitted for this story yet.