Blog 2022

Who do you trust the most? According to the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer, business is the most trusted institution in society. CEO Richard Edelman told us that more people are turning to their employers for truthful information and to lead in solving issues such as racial equality, skills retraining, and climate change. Societal leadership is now a core function of businesses. At the same time, respondents want more leadership from business, indicating that business is not doing enough to address societal problems of climate change (52 percent); economic inequality (49 percent) and workforce reskilling (46 percent).

The 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer is Edelman’s 22^nd Trust and Credibility survey with more than 36,000 respondents from the US and 27 other countries who participated completing 30-minute online interviews. It shows how many stakeholders assess the performance of politicians, business and non-governmental organizations as credible, trustworthy communicators on a number of topics and dimensions.

The Trust Barometer reveals a vicious cycle of distrust fueled by government and media. Here two institutions people rely on for truth are doing a dangerous tango of short-term mutual advantage, with exaggeration and division to gain clicks and votes.

Globally, a majority of people believe they are being lied to by journalists (67 percent, up 8 points) and government leaders (66 percent, up 9 points). Nearly one out of every two respondents view government (48 percent) and media (46 percent) as divisive forces in society.  Moreover, fake news is a core problem with social media driving false and misleading information.

Register for #CONVERGENCESummit2022, where Edelman will discuss cause for these developments with more depth, recommending strategies for communicators to help break the cycle of distrust and drive more success for their companies. 

Register for #CONVERGENCESummit2022 now and hear Edelman share his recommendations for breaking the cycle of distrust.

-written by Irene Connors