It’s long past time to abandon the old adage that “love makes the world go ‘round.”Today,if anything keeps the world turning,it’s trust. Without trust,there’s no benefit of the doubt given,everyone becomes a hapless fact-checker,
and nothing gets done,no governmental decisions made,and little gets bought or sold in the marketplace. The Edelman Trust Barometer shows that this year – and over the last six years – some revolutionary changes are unfolding.
First,trust in established institutions like government and the media remains shaky. How these institutions have responded to events such as Hurricane Katrina,urban riots in France,and the latest news reporting fiascoes hasn’t helped. All this jibes with other surveys,as well as anecdotal material,that suggests people increasingly find government and the media to be self-serving and even untrustworthy.Interestingly,business,after a very bad start to this century,has recovered somewhat from the rash of scandals.
However,the biggest change among major institutions has been the rise of trust in NGOs,which are becoming the most-trusted institution.As people seek new institutions and individuals in which to place their trust,they turn to NGOs, even though many have powerful interests in the arenas in which they operate. Greenpeace, for example, gets high trust marks for information on the environment.
See full Report, in pdf format.
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