The

Trust
10

01

Trust in
crisis

02

Globally, trust in the institutions
of business, media, government
and NGOs dropped three points
in 2017. Media is at all-time lows,
government trust continues to
erode, and two-thirds of surveyed
countries are now “distrusters,”
with under 50% trust.

03

A broken
system

Globally, there is now a 15-point
gap between the trust held by the
informed public and that held by
the mass population—a threepoint increase in the last year.

04

Failing system +
fears = action

06

Ten of the 28 surveyed countries
combine an above-average lack
of belief that the system is working
with multiple societal fears—the
same hotspots of recent populist
actions: France, Italy, Mexico,
South Africa, Spain, Brazil,
Colombia, the U.K., Australia
and the U.S.

07

Peers highly
credible

Expectations for
business high
The three most important attributes
for building trust in a company are
treating employees well, offering
high-quality products and services,
and listening to customers—and
they matter even more to those who
believe the system isn’t working.

To explore the complete 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer,
visit www.edelman.com/trust2017

The media
echo chamber
People are nearly four times more
likely to ignore information that
supports a position they don’t
believe in; don’t regularly listen
to those with whom they often
disagree (53%); and are more
likely to believe search engines
(59%) over human editors (41%).

08

For the first time, “a person like
yourself” is as credible a source
for information about a company
as a technical or academic expert
(all three at 60%). Credibility of
CEOs is at an all-time low, with
a 12-point decline in the last year.

09

Concerns &
fears
Leading the list of societal
concerns and fears we measured
that are commonly associated with
populist actions are corruption
(69% concerned; 40% fearful);
globalization (62% concerned;
27% fearful); eroding social values
(56% concerned; 25% fearful);
immigration (55% concerned; 28%
fearful); and the pace of innovation
(51% concerned; 22% fearful).

Globally, 53% believe that the
system is not working for them—
it’s unfair, doesn’t give them hope
for the future and leaders won’t
fix problems. 32% are uncertain,
and only 15% agree the system
is working.

05

Trust inequality
grows

Business adds
to fears
53% agree that the pace of change
in business and industry is too fast.
They worry about losing their jobs
due to lack of training or skills
(60%); foreign competitors (60%);
immigrants who work for less (58%);
jobs moving to cheaper markets
(55%); and automation (54%).

10

With the people
The trust crisis demands a new
operating model for organizations by
which they listen to all stakeholders;
provide context on the issues that
challenge their lives; engage in
dialogue with them; and tap
peers, especially employees,
to lead communications and
advocacy efforts.

All data is based on general population sample unless otherwise noted.