The 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals that we live in a society based on mistrust. Fear and lack of confidence in institutions are present in most respondents. 85 percent of respondents are concerned about job loss, and 75 percent are very concerned about climate change.
Two years after a pandemic that spread across the globe, respondents see scientists as the most trustworthy members of society—by three-quarters of the people—while government leaders are the least trustworthy.
Conclusions from the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer
“The government was the most trusted institution in May 2020, when the world sought leadership capable of tackling a global pandemic,” says Richard Edelman. “Now, after a confusing response, when it comes to basic competence, the government is less trusted than companies and NGOs. People still want the government to tackle the big challenges, but only four in 10 respondents say the government can deliver and get results.”
Concerns are growing deeper and more intense. Government and media are seen as divisive forces, while companies and NGOs are seen as unifying forces. And two-thirds of respondents are convinced that they are being misled by journalists, government leaders, and business leaders.
The study shows that companies are currently the most trusted source of information, with this trust being local, as 77% of respondents trust their own employer rather than businesses in general, and 65% believe their own employer’s communications rather than other sources.
Eighty-one percent also believe that CEOs should be personally visible when discussing public policy with external stakeholders or the work their company has done to benefit society, and 60 percent of respondents want companies to play a greater role in issues such as climate change, economic inequality, workforce retraining, and racial injustice.
“Addressing these myriad challenges will require a new way of operating and a much higher level of performance from our key institutions,” says Edelman. The media needs to return to a business model that replaces outrage with sobriety, clickbait with calm authority. NGOs have an invaluable role to play in climate change and the final stage of the pandemic.”
Other findings from the Edelman Trust Barometer 2022:
- In many of the democracies studied, institutions are trusted by less than half the population, including only 46 points in Germany, 45 points in Spain, 44 points in the UK, and 43 points in the US.
- Concerns about fake news or false information being used as a weapon are now at an all-time high of 76%.
- Respondents believe that business is not doing enough to address societal issues, including climate change (52%), economic inequality (49%), workforce retraining (46%), and reliable information (42%).
