We all know how delicate trust is. It can take years to build, only to be destroyed by the fallout from a single event. We’re living in the era of fake news where any nutcase armed with a wi-fi connection can twist or create any ‘fact’ and be believed by millions. In this whirlwind of information, who do we turn to? Who do we trust?
Edelman, in its annual Trust Barometer, maps the current status by surveying over 36,000 individuals across 28 countries.
Results from the 2022 survey show a clear decline in trust in government and media generally, while trust in business is stable at 61% overall with 11 countries seeing falls from the previous year and 11 countries experiencing gains.
Edelman describes any group falling below the 50% level as ‘distrusted’. Most notably, business trust levels in Germany (48%) and the US (49%) saw falls of 6% and 5% respectively from 2021. At the other end of the scale, businesses in China are on a roll with a 14% increase to 84% after rebounding from a significant fall during the pandemic.
Unsurprisingly, an all-time high of 76% of respondents are worried about ‘fake information’ or ‘fake news’. Trust in any of the four general media groups didn’t even reach the 60% mark: search engines 59%, traditional media 57%, owned media 43% and social media 37%. The default statement for the majority (59%) was “my tendency is to distrust until I see evidence that something is trustworthy”.
When asked: “Please indicate how much you trust businesses in each of the following industries to do what is right” on a nine-point scale, trust in most industries rose. As with earlier years, the technology sector leads with an impressive 74%, beating healthcare, education and manufacturing to joint second place (all at 69%).
Looking at ten-year trend data, we see that trust in financial services has increased by ten points from 44% to 54% and trust in the energy industry has risen by seven points from 54% to 61%. Interestingly, trust in the technology sector has actually dropped by 5% from 77% to 72%.
Note: This ten-year comparison takes results from the original 22 countries included in the 2012 study and the same 22 countries from the latest survey, hence the variations in percentages from the bar chart above, which shows the results from all countries surveyed.
Family-owned companies garner most trust with a rating of 67%, followed by privately held companies at 58%, publicly traded companies at 56% and last – and apparently least – state-owned enterprises at 52%.
If we revert back to the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer, respondents were also asked: “In general, when forming an opinion of a company, if you heard information about a company from each person, how credible would the information be?” Technical experts and academic experts scored highest at 59% each, followed by ‘a person like yourself’ at 53% and CEOs at 44%. The board of directors, regular employees and government officials scored even less, with journalists trailing the pack with just 36%. This category of ‘spokespeople’ was not directly covered in the 2022 survey.
Considering the erosion in trust in general following numerous cases of fake news and information hitting the headlines in recent years, businesses have done well to retain the level of trust they now have. However, it’s no time to sit back and accept the status quo. It’s a constant fight to retain and build on trust. Honesty, transparency and information quality are all key pillars in building credibility, as indeed is the choice of spokesperson or persons for the organisation. Based on the 2021 survey results, technical experts, if they are not already part of the communications front line, should be taken out of the reserves and put in the first team. Whether this is one person or several subject-matter experts depends on the organisation of course, but giving these respected figures more exposure and share of voice is a clear opportunity for businesses looking to influence and win customers.
The Edelman Trust Barometer 2022 was conducted online in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, UAE, UK and USA. Fieldwork was completed from 1 November to 24 November 2021. This is the 22nd survey of its kind.
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