When Extinction Rebellion moored their boat in the centre of Oxford Circus in April 2019, they were not just taking a stand about the climate crisis, they were making a point about trust. This is why I took particular notice of Edelman’s annual Trust Barometer Report which was launched this week, because I wondered what kind of a picture it would paint of public opinion.
- 47% of the general population don’t trust their government
- 6 of the 15 least trusted nations are in Europe
- 14 of the world’s most developed countries believe they will be worse off in 5 years time
This report is a big deal not just because the global PR agency has been conducting this citizen research for 18 years, but because the insights are taken from over 33,000 people in 27 global markets – segmented by inform public (regular news readers and the general population). So it’s fair to say it’s a significant sample size, with 18 years of data to compare against. In a world where hardly anyone trusts anyone else anymore, telling the truth (to power) has never been more important.
You can download the full report here but here are the highlights.
Jeremy Waite 