From the Edelman Trust Barometer 2021
People the world over have concerns about their institutions. American public relations and marketing firm Edelman is recognizing that trust has become the new disruptor.
This has been building. Back in their 2020 survey, Edelman learned that the public thinks technology is moving ahead too fast (61%). They worry about fake news and videos making it harder to distinguish between truth and lies (66%). People also fear that regulators cannot do their job effectively (61%), given their understanding of emerging technologies and the pace of change. A year later things became worse, and trust was harder to find.
“After a year of unprecedented disaster and turbulence — the Covid-19 pandemic and economic crisis, the global outcry over systemic racism, and political instability — the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals an epidemic of misinformation and widespread mistrust of societal institutions and leaders around the world.”
Edelman
The Edelman Trust Barometer 2021 is based on their 21st annual trust and credibility survey, which gathered opinions from more than 33,000 respondents in 28 geographies in October and November 2020.
Security and inequity
People are feeling less secure, more anxious.
- 56% of respondents worry that the pandemic has accelerated the rate at which companies will replace human workers with AI and robots.
- 62% of respondents say the pandemic has increased the burdens placed on those with less education, money, and resources.
- 53% of respondents say addressing their country’s discrimination and racism is more important now.
Leader honesty
People don’t trust organizational leaders.
- 57% of respondents believe government leaders are misleading people through lies and exaggerations.
- 56% of respondents believe business leaders are misleading people through lies and exaggerations.
Media honesty
The role of journalism as an objective force for truth has taken such a severe hit it may never recover.
- 59% of respondents believe journalists are misleading people through lies and exaggerations.
- 59% of respondents believe news organizations are more concerned with supporting an ideology or political position than with informing the public.
- 61% of respondents believe the media is not doing well at being objective and non-partisan.
Foundational problems
Part of the problem may be that the majority of people identify serious problems they believe should be addressed, but feel their journalists and political and business leaders are not taking appropriate action.
- 72% of respondents are concerned about climate change; over half of those describe themselves as fearful.
- 70% of respondents say improving their country’s healthcare system is more important now.
- 62% of respondents say addressing their country’s poverty is more important now.
- 59% of respondents say protecting individual freedoms is more important now.
CEO responsibility
Nonetheless, people feel that the business community can, and should, be a force for positive change.
- 86% of respondents believe their CEO should publicly speak out about one or more of these challenges:
- pandemic impact;
- job automation;
- societal issues;
- local community issues.
- 68% of respondents say CEOs should step in when governments fail to fix societal problems.
Self-reliance
In response to all of this people acknowledge that they need to better educate themselves on these topics.
- 55% of respondents say they need to increase their media and information literacy.
- 52% of respondents say they need to increase their science literacy.
- 51% of respondents say they need to become more politically aware.
Empowerment
For many, all of this anxiety and frustration has led to a newfound commitment to speak up and help drive change at the grassroots level.
- 68% of respondents believe consumers have the power to force corporations to change.
- 50% of respondents say they are now more likely to voice objections and engage in protest at work.
- 47% of respondents plan to speak out more when they see a need for changes and reforms.