2025 Edelman Trust Barometer Reveals High Level of Grievance Towards Government, Business and the Rich

Violence and Spread of Disinformation Now Seen as Legitimate Tools for Change 

NEW YORK, Jan. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals that economic fears have metastasized into grievance, with six in 10 respondents reporting moderate to high sense of grievance. This is defined by a belief that government and business harm them and serve narrow interests, and ultimately the wealthy benefit while regular people struggle. Fear of experiencing discrimination has surged 10 points to a record high of 63 percent, spanning the majority across all genders, ages, and income levels. The largest jump (14 points) was seen among whites in the U.S.

"Over the last decade, society has devolved from fears to polarization to grievance," said Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman. "Incumbents in the U.S., UK, France, Germany, South Korea and Canada were ousted amid voter anger over job loss to globalization and inflation. We now see a zero-sum mindset that legitimizes extreme measures like violence and disinformation as tools for change. The Barometer finds a 30-point trust gap in institutions between those with high and low grievance (Trust Index of 36 versus 66). Closing this gap fosters hope for a brighter future."

Grievance stems from four key factors. First is lack of hope for the next generation – belief that things in their country will be better than today for the next generation is at just 36 percent, with severe lows in every Western democracy including France (9 percent), the UK (17 percent), and the U.S. (30 percent). Second is the mass-class trust divide – low-income respondents (48 percent) trust institutions 13 points less than those with high-income (61 percent). Third is a global unprecedented lack of faith in institutional leaders – an average of 69 percent of respondents worry government officials, business leaders and journalists deliberately mislead them, up 11 points since 2021. Lastly, confusion over credible information – 63 percent say it's becoming harder to tell if news was produced by a respectable source or from attempted deception.

Alarmingly, four in 10 respondents – 53 percent of those aged 18-34 – approve of one or more forms of hostile activism to bring about change, which includes attacking people online, intentionally spreading disinformation, threatening or committing violence, and damaging public or private property. A zero-sum mindset also prevails, with respondents believing gains for those with opposing politics come at their expense – more than twice as common among those with high grievance (53 percent) than low grievance (23 percent).

For the past several years, business has been the default solution for societal issues because it is seen as outperforming government on competence (currently scoring 49 points better than government) and ethics (29 points better). Business faces new guardrails; with involvement in addressing societal problems justified if it contributed to the problem, could make a major impact on the challenge, and if its actions would improve business performance. The other three major institutions have vital roles to play. NGOs, as unifiers, are the institution with the highest trust among those with a sense of high grievance. Government must prove its competence by delivering results that benefit citizens. Media must prioritize quality information over click-driven content to enable informed decisions.

"Business is facing backlash from those opposing its role as a catalyst for societal change," said Edelman. "Moving back from a grievance-based society will require a cross-institution effort to address issues like information integrity, affordability, sustainability, and the future of AI." 

Other key findings from the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer include:

• Lack of Trust in Top Economies: Five of the largest 10 global economies are among the least trusting nations on the Trust Index: Japan (the least trusting at 37), Germany (41), UK (43), U.S. (47) and France (48).
• Developing Nations More Trusting: China (77), Indonesia (76), India (75) and the UAE (72) once again sit atop the Trust Index as the most trusting nations surveyed.
• Trust Remains Local: Despite a 3-point drop to 75 percent trust among employees, 'my employer' remains the most trusted institution.
• Job Insecurity Accelerates: Fears of job insecurity due to the impacts of globalization all increased in the last year, including causes such as international trade conflicts (with 62 percent of employees worried, up 5 points), foreign competitors (59 percent, up 6 points), offshoring (54 percent, up 6 points); a looming recession (63 percent, up 3 points); automation (58 percent, up 5 points); and out of date skills (58 percent, up 2 points).
• The Wealthy Seen as The Problem: A majority believe they avoid paying their fair share of taxes (67 percent), and 65 percent blame their selfishness for many of our problems. 

About Edelman

Edelman is a global communications firm that partners with businesses and organizations to evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations. With 6,000 employees across over 60 offices, Edelman develops communication strategies that build client confidence and stakeholder trust. The firm boasts an array of accolades, including PRWeek's Agency Dynasty of the Past 25 Years and Global Agency of the Year (2023) and Cannes Lions Independent Agency of the Year for the Good Track (2024 & 2022). Recognized as a standout agency by AdAge (2023) and honored with multiple Cannes Lions, including Titanium, Grand Prix and seven Gold Lions since 2021, Edelman consistently sets the industry standard. Since our founding in 1952, we have remained an independent, family-run business. Edelman owns specialty companies Edelman Data x Intelligence (research, data), Edelman Smithfield (financial communications), and UEG (entertainment, sports and lifestyle).

About the Edelman Trust Barometer

The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer is the firm's 25^th annual trust survey. The research was produced by the Edelman Trust Institute and consists of 30-minute online interviews conducted between October 25 and November 16, 2024. The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer surveyed more than 33,000 respondents across 28 countries.  

Published every January, the report covers a range of timely and important societal indicators of trust among business, media, government and NGOs, shaping conversation and setting the agenda for the year ahead. For more information, visit https://www.edelman.com/trust-barometer 

SOURCE Daniel J. Edelman Holdings, Inc.