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2018- EdelmanTrust BarometerThe firm's 18th annual trust and credibility survey. Research conductedby Edelman lntelligence, a global insight and analytics consultancy.

Methodology

Online survey in 28 markets

18 years of data

33,OOO + respondents total

3O-minute survey

All fieldwork was conductedbetween October 28 andNovember 20,2017

,: General Online Population

- 7 years in 25+ markets

- Ages 18+

- 1,15O respondents per market

lnformed Publie

- 10 years in 2O+ markets

- Represents 15olo of totalglobal population

- 5OO respondents in U.S. andChina;2OO in all other markets

- Must meet four criteria:

Ages 25-64Colle ge - ed ucated

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ln top 25olo of household incomeper age group in each market

Report significant mediaconsumption and engagement inbusiness news and public policy

Mass Population

- All respondents not includinglnformed Public

- Represents 85o/o of totalglobal population

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Contents 02 The Battle for Truth

A4 The State of Trust

06 Global Leaders Poles Apart

07 America in Grisis

08 ln Search of Truth

10 The Return of Experts

12 Trust Shifts Worth Watching

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The Battlefor Truth

Richard EdelmanPresideal and CEO

As we begia 2O18, we find theworld in a new phase in the loss oftrust: the unwillingness to believeinformation, even from those closestto us. The loss of confidence ininformation channels and $ourcesis the fourth wave of the trusttsunami. The moorings ofinstitutions have already beendangerously undermined by thethree previous waves: fear ofjob loss due to globalization andautomation; the Great Becession,which created a crisis ol confideneein traditional authority figures andinstitutlons while undermining themiddle class; and the effects ofmassive global migration. Now, inthis fourth wave, we have a worldwithout common facts and obiectivetruth, weakening trust even as theglobal economy recovers.

Gresham's Law, based on the 18th-century observation that debasedcurrency drives out the good, is nowevident in the realm of information,with fake news crowding out realnews. Leaders are going directlyto the people, bashing the media asinaccurate and biased. These forcesare taking a toll. According to the2O18 Edelman Trust Barometer, mediahas become the least-trusted globalinstitution for the first time, with trustscores of over 5O percent in onlysix markets, five of whiclr are in thedeveloping world. Putting pressure ontrust in media are declining trust insearch engines and social media.

People have retreated into self-curated information bubbles, wherethey read only thal with which theyagree, as if selecting their playlistfor music. Fully half of respondentsindicate that they consume main-stream media less than once aweek. Nearly six in 1O agree that newsorganizations are politicized, andnearly one in two agree that they areelitist. Nearly two-thirds agree thatthe average person cannot distinguishgood journalism from falsehoods.

This year also brings a change inthe ecosystem of trust, which hadbecome increasingly premisedon peer-to-peer discussion. Thecredibility of "a person like yourself"declined substantially, and peers areno longer the most-believed sourceof information. There is renewedconfidence in experts, notablytechnical experts and academics{63 percent and 61 percent,respectively), as well as a fast-recovering belief in CEOs (up from37 percent to 44 percent), rewardedfor speaking out on issues.

At the same time, in the two mostpowerful nations in the world,China and the U.S., trust is movingdramatically in opposite directions,with China showing the most extremepositive changes in trustand the U.S. the most extremenegative changes this year.

The U.S. is enduring the worst collapseever recorded in the history of the

11 "Gresham's LaW

based on the18th-centuryobservationthat debasedcurrency drivesout the good,is now evidentin the realmof information,with fake newscrowding outreal news.

&t 1,Silence is nowdangerous - a

deeplytax on truth.

Edelman Trust Barometer. This is ledby a decline in trust in government,

which is down 30 points among theinformed public and 14 points amongthe general population, while for theinformed public trust in each of theother institutions sank by 20 or morepoints. General population trustdeclined nine points on theTrust lndex scale to 43, placing thenation in the lower middle segment.But informed public trust imploded,down 23 Trust lndex points to45, ranking the U.S. lowest of the28 markets surveyed, and all buteliminating the trust gap betweenthe informed public and the masspopulation. This decline is transversal,across age, region and gender,

China's trust is soaring; it is now theNo.'l market on the Trust lndex amongboth the informed public and thegeneral population. The governmentand media have always been highlytrusted, but there is an inexorable risein business and NGOs. The middleclass is growing quickly, and Chinesebrands such as Tencent and Alibabaare moving aggressively into global

markets. China's trust scores arenearly matched by lndia, the UAE,lndonesia and Singapore, while theWestern democracies languish mostlyin distruster territory, challengingthe traditional geopolitical vision ofsatislaction with systems.

The "mass-class" divide persists,

with only seven markets in thedistruster category for the informed

public, while among the generalpopulation 2O of the 28 marketssurveyed now fall into the categoryof distrust. Declines of trust are no

longer linked as closely to economicwoes but instead to specific violations,such as quality control falsification atJapan lnc.'s Kobe Steel or the briberyscandal at Brazil's JBS.

The employer is the safe house inglobal governance, with 72 percentof respondents saying that theY

trust their employer to do what isright. By nearly a two-to-one margin,a company is trusted to takespecific actions that both increaseprofits and improve economic andsocial conditions.

There are new expectations olcorporate leaders. Nearly 7 in 1O

respondents say that building trustis the No. l job for CEOs, ahead ofhigh-quality products and services.Nearly two-thirds say they want CEOs

to take the lead on policy changeinstead of waiting for government,which now ranks significantly belowbusiness in trust in most markets. Thisis the time for business to addressthe wage stagnation of the workingclass over the past two decades whileacknowledging the need to retrainemployees who are about to be

replaced by automation.

There is a desperate search for theterra firma of stability and truth.The fourth wave of the trust tsunami,the rise of disinformation, is perhaps

the most insidious because it

undermines the very essence ofrational discourse and decision-making. Silence is now deePlY

dangerous-a tax on truth.

The consequences of a loss ofbelief in reliable information are

volatility, societal polarizatlon and an

ebbing of faith in society's governing

structures, slowing economicgrowth and tempting leaders tomake short-sighted policy choices.We must heed the warning of theChinese philosopher Confuciuscenturies ago; "A state cannotsurvive without the confidenceof its people."

This is the existential challengeof our times, Fortunately, we arealready seeing the first signs ofregret about over-dePendence onpeers and blind reliance on populist

leaders. People's concern about fakenews and their willingness to listento experts show that they yearn forknowledge. The media cannot solvelhis alone because of economicconstraints and the politics of themoment. Every institution must play

its part by educating its constituentsand joining the public debate,going direct to the end-users ofinformation. That means taking theinformed risk to join the battle fortruth so that facts triumph over fears.

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The Stateof TrustVolatility brews beneath a stagnantsurface. lf a single theme capturesthe state of the world's trust in 2018,it is this. Even as people's trust inbusiness, government, NGOs andmedia across 28 markets remainedlargely unchanged, experiencingvirtually no recoveryfrom 2Ol7(Fig. 1), dramatic shifts are takingplace at the market level andwithin the institution of media.

Globally,2O of 28 markets lie indistruster territory (Fig. 2), onemore than in 2O17. Trust among theinformed public-those with higherlevels of income and education-declined slightly on a global level,from 6O percent to 59 percent,thrusting this group into neutralterritory from its once trusting status.

A closer look, however, reveals aworld moving apart (Fig.3). In 2018,two poles have emerged: a clusterof six marketss where trust hasdramatically increased, and six wheretrust has deeply declined. Whereasin previous years market-level trusthas moved largely in lockstep, for thefirst time ever there is now a distinctsplit between extreme trust gainersand losers,

No market saw steeper declines thanthe United States, with a 37-pointaggregate drop in trust across allinstitutions. The loss of trust wasmost severe among the informedpublic-a 23-point fall on the Trustlndex- nearly erasing the "mass-class"divide that once stood between thissegment of the U.S. population and

the country's far-less-trustingmass population.

At the opposite end of the spectrum,China experienced a 27-pointgain, more than any other market.Following behind ln the trust gainercategory are the UAE {24 points)and South Korea (23 points).

No Recovery in TrustPercent trust, 2O17 vs. 2018

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Poles ApartThe story ol two poles is expressedmost clearly in the phenomenol ofthe world's two largest economies,the U.S. and China, which standworlds apart in trust (Fig.4). Acrossevery institution, Ghina experiencedgains of five or more points in trust,with an eight'point increase ingovernment leading the way.

Trust among China's young adults(18-34) climbed by eight points; insharp contrast, U.S. young adultssurrendered 12 percentage points.No group experienced greaterdeclines in the U.S. than adults (35-54), with a l4-point lalloff in trust.

Similarly, trust among people withhigher levels of income in the U.S.

fell by'17 points, while that of peoplewith lower income levels took aneight-point dive.

ln China, on the other hand, incomeprovides no dividing line for trust'sgains or falls. For both higher-incomeand lower-income groups, trustincreased by six points.

Business is viewed as the mostbroken institution in China;38percent say it is the most brokenof the four institutions. ln the U.S.,government is resoundingly seen

as the institution most in needof repair (59 percent); only sevenpercent believe that business isthe most broken.

When it comes to the institutionsbest positioned to lead each nationto a better future, there is alsoa divergence of views. ln China,government is seen as most likelyto lead the country forward; in theU.S., NGOs claim the role.

U.S. Grashes, Ghina RisesPercent trust, 2017 vs. 2O18

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Americain Crisis

ln a year marked by turbulence athome and abroad, trust in institutionsin the United States crashed,posting the steepest, most dramaticgeneral population decline the TrustBarometer has ever measured.

It is no exaggeration to state thatthe U,S. has reached a point of crisisthat should provoke every leader, ingovernment, business, or civil sector,into urgent action. Inertia is not anoption, and neither is silence. Thepublic's confidence in the traditionalstructures of American leadership is

now fully undermined and has beenreplaced with a strong sense of fear,uncertainty and disillusionment.

Among the informed public, thetrust crash is even steeper, withtrust declining 23 points, dropping theU.S. from sixth to last place out of the28 markets surveyed. The informedpublic trust crash is universalacross age, region and gender.As a result, the gap in trust betweenthe informed public and the masspopulation has been all but eliminated.

In the search for explanation, contexthelps. For sure, it has been a year ofexceptional public opinlon volatility.Record rises in the stock marketand the lowest unemployment ratesin 'lO years have been juxtaposedwith stagnant wage growth, andpublic concerns over jobs, massshootings, sexual harassment, andpolice treatment of black youth, notto mention the emerging fears on theglobal stage over North Korea, jobmigration and U.S. isolationism.

The result is an unsettled andunnerved public at large. Vast swathsof Americans no longer trust theirleaders. Government had the steepestdecline (14 points) among the generalpopulation. Fewer than one in threebelieve that government officials are

Lisa RossPresident,Washington, D.C.

Stephen KehoeGlobal Chair,Reputation

credible. But no one is off the hook:trust in other institutions (business,

NGOs and the media) fell heavilyas well.

ln losing the battle for trust, thebiggest victim has been conlidencein truih. Persistent referencesto fake news, linked to headlinesaround foreign government electionmanipulation have, unsurprisingly,had a cumulative, deep effect onthe public. The inability to stem theperceived surge in disinformation hasproven toxicr 63 percent of the U.S.

general population finds it difficult todistinguish between what is real newsand what is fake.

ln this year's survey there have beenonly losers, including business: theturmoil has had a clear, negative effecton Brand USA. Trust in companiesheadquartered in the U.S. has droppedfive points f rom 55 to 50 percent justin the last year, alter having alreadyfallen from 61 percent in 2O14, This ismuch below trust accorded companiesbased in Canada and Switzerland at68 and 67 percent, respectively.

The uncertainty of the moment ispalpable. The public is fearful, andtrust is disturbingly low.

ln this context, leadership isdesperately sought and opportunitiesto step up are clear, starting witha new commitment to advancinga shared understanding of the

truth, and a determination to standtall in addressing the fears ofAmericans. Silence and inaction arenot options, and no work is moreimportant than re-establishing trust.

No one institution will succeed inrebuilding trust on its own. Businessand CEOs have a critical role to play.

Brian Moynihan of Bank of Americaput it well: "Our job as CEOs nowincludes driving what we think is right.It's not exactly political activism, but itis action on issues beyond business."

The issues around which an individualbusiness should engage will differdepending on the company andindustry sector, but each has urgentissues that must be addressed.Social media platforms must act on

"fake" news feeds and advertiserson information privacy; the financialservice sector needs to shine a clearerIight on the rise of crypto-currencies;manufacturers must allay lears aboutthe export of jobs; and a growing cross-section of industries must addressthe malaise around job automation,from truck drivers to retail workers.

Speaking up requires courageand conviction. There will be noshortcut to rebuilding trust in

America. Government, business,NGOs and the media will need towork together to find a new footholdwith the public, one that is firmlygrounded in a commitment to truth.

Steve SchmidtVice Chairman,Public Affairs

Thls year's shattering loss of trust in the United Statesrepresents a hinge moment in history. We're at the endof the lifespans of the men and women who stormed thebeachesof Normandgwho saved theworld and builtthe U.S. liberal-led world order. Now that order seemsto be unraveling in many directions. And we haven't yetseen leadership in any area that promises to put us backonto a trarectory of trust.

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ln Searchof TruthDespite the polarization of trust,if there is agreement on anythingin 2O18 it is that fake news is a deepcause for concern.

Globally, nearly seven in 1O

respondents among the generalpopulation worry about fake newsor false information being used as a

weapon (Fig. 5). Sixty-three percentagree that the average person doesnot know how to distinguish goodjournalism from rumor, and 59 percentsay that it is getting harder to tell ifa piece of news was produced by arespected media organization.

At the same time, people arebecoming increasingly skeptical ofnews organizations, with a majoritysaying that news organizalions aremore focused on attracting largeaudiences than reporting the story(66 percent), breaking news overcommunicating with accuracy (65percent), and supporting an ideologyor political position over informingthe public (59 percent).

The consequence is that half of thegeneral population has becomedisengaged (Fig. 7), consumingnews produced by major newsorganizations less than once a week.

These concerns and actions havehad a dramatic impact on trust in themedia overall .ln 22 of 28 markets,media is now distrusted. There is a

widespread belief that media is failinglo meet key societal expectations-receiving scores of 5O percent orless when it comes to guardinginformation quality, educating peopleon important issues, and helpinginform good life decisions.

A closer look at media also revealsthat people's definition of media isbroad and wide (Fig. 6). People agreethat platforms- including socialmedia and search engines-are partof "the media," alongside journalism,

or publishers and news organizations.

ln conjunction with this expandeddefinition of media-and as another

proof point of the volatility thatnow lies beneath the surface-wesee a bifurcation of trust betweenjournalism and platforms (Fig.8).Trust in journalism jumped five pointsin 2O18 (to 59 percent), whereas trustin platforms dipped two points {to 5'lpercent)-amounting to a seven-pointspread today between the two.

Although nearly half of people saythey don't trust platforms, theyrely on them for news. Even as thissegment of the media experiencedtrust declines in 21 of 28 markets,nearly two-thirds of people say theyreceive news from platforms.

Whether publisher or platform, theconsequence of media failing to do itsjob is profound: a direct loss of trustfor government leaders, companiesand brands. More alarming is the factthat nearly six in 1O say they do notknow where the truth lies.

Nearly 7 in 1O Worry About Fake;.a:!ryeapon. "::'

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People Define "Media" as Both Publishers and PlatformsPercent who include each in their delinition of media

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Trust in Journalism and Platforms DivergePercent trust, 2013-2O18

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The Returnof Expertsln a world where media confusionis causlng a churn of trust, voicesof authority are now regainlngcredibillty (Fig. 1O). CEOs recordeda seven-percentage point gain, andjournallsts have rlsen 12 points slnce2O17. ln contrast, a "person llkeyourself" has dipped to an all-tlmelow in the study's history.

Expert voices across businessregistered broad gains in credibility,with the net effect of technicalexperts, financial industry analysts,and successful entrepreneurs al!enjoying credibility levels of 50percent or higher today. Governmentofficials or regulators are the leastcredible at 35 percent, despite a six-percentage point increase from theprevious year.

The growing regard for voices ofauthority is in accordance with themounting expectations for today'sbusinesses, and CEOs specifically,to lead. Sixty-four percent agree thatGEOs should take the lead on changerather than waiting for government to

impose it. Moreover, the believabilityof a business'analysis of an importantsocial issue (46 percent) is nearlyon par with that of a major newsorganization (54 percent).

Employees also give their employersa runway for leading on change. The2018 Trust Barometer shows stronglevels of employees'trust in theiremployers to do what is right, witha global average of 72 percent trust(Fig.9). ln only two countries-Japanand South Korea-are trust levelsbelow 60 percent.

The trust-building mandates thatbusiness should address vary bymarket, and specifically they varyby whether a market is dramaticallylosing or gaining trust (Fig. 11). lnmarkets where trust is on the riseor stable, business must invest injobs and a competitive workforce.ln markets with extreme trustlosses, proteciing consumers andtheir privacy, and also guardinginformation quality, must be priorities.

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Voices of Authority Regain CredibilityPercent who rate each spokesperson as vety/extremelycredible, and change 2o17-2018

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Business Must Address Market DynamicsTrust-building mandates for business

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Trust Shifts

After 18 years of studying trust,we have developed a sense ofhowworld events and economicswill Iikely affect people's trust ininstitutions, markets, and sectors.But sometimes whatwe see in thedata causes us to take notlce.

This year's study was fielded in ayear marked by the rise ofdisinformation and a questioningof what and who to believe. Fourkey observations stand out asnoteworthy for what they suggestabout these volatile times.

As the problem of globaldisinf ormation evolves, thesenoteworthy findings wil! be closelywatched by all who are concernedabout truth. Only time willtell ifthese are one-time shifts or thebeginning signals of a populacelooking for believability in a post-truth world.

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Worth Watching* The credibility of "a person like

yourself" began to wane in 2O16,and now that the truth itself isunder assault, it's at an all-timelow. People have a renewedfaith in credentialed voices ofauthority. This year's rise in thecredibility of experts suggeststhat peer information may beunder greater scrutiny in thedays ahead.

- When fake news threatens realnews, the origin of contentbegins to matter more. We seethis concern expressed in therise in trust of journalism whiletrust in social networks andsearch are declining. And whilethe technology sector as a wholeremains the most trusted in ourstudy, it appears technology.powered social networks andsearch are being questioned forthe first time at scale.

Ben BoydPresident,Practices, Sectors andlntellectual Property

- Economics can be trumpedby deeper, more essentialconcerns about truth, believabilityand the overall trust trajectoryor "psyche" of a population-consider this year's trust crashin the U.S. at a time wher* thecountry is experiencing strongeconomic performance,

- NGOs have historically beentrusted as a remedy for social illsleft unaddressed ly government.But when government is dEstrustedand media no longer is perceivedto serve as its watchdog, bothNGOs and business can fill the roleof providing reliable informationabout- and solutions for-theissues that people care about.Our study began 18 years agowith a focus on NGO trust; today,business and NGOs are viewedequally as the institutions holdingthe most hope for our respsndents.

For 18 years, the Edelman Trust Barometer hasasked respondents: "How much do you trust aninstitution to do what is right?" This year, for thefirst time, we also asked what their expectationsare for the roles that each institution must fill insociety (Fig. 12).

The most important individual trust-buildingmandates-and where lhey overlap (e.9., bothbusiness and media are expected to'protectprivacy")-point to a belief !!at instit

Pervasive distrust and growing concern aboutdisinformation will be combatted only throughinformed, responsible education on the issuesand through the four institutions' willingnessto collaborate-with one another and with thepeople they collectively serve.

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