Edelman Trust Barometer

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Edelman Trust Barometer

Our work as a global communications firm is built on earning the trust of our clients’ stakeholders through reputation management, commerce and brand advocacy. For more than 25 years, we have studied the influence of trust across society — government, media, business, and NGOs — to shape conversation, drive results and earn action. Our work has proven that an organization’s ability to succeed or fail is defined by trust in their mission and leadership, and our industry-leading research explains why.

WHY DO WE STUDY TRUST?

25 YEARS OF TRUST

Celebrating 25 Years

Edelman has been at the forefront of understanding this intangible force of society, observing seismic shifts in institutional trust over the past 25 years.

THROUGH THE YEARS

The 25th anniversary edition of the Edelman Trust Barometer has has revealed a profound shift to acceptance of aggressive action, with political polarization and deepening fears giving rise to a widespread sense of grievance.

Explore the Findings

Special Reports

Specialized analyses on a range of timely and relevant topics to study the implication of trust on the issues of the day.

Report

2025 Edelman Trust Barometer: Special Report - The Unseen Impacts of COVID

March 10, 2025

Explore the unseen long-term impacts of COVID-19 on trust, business, and society in the 2025 Edelman...

Report

The AI Trust Imperative: Navigating the Future with Confidence

February 13, 2025

AI is at a trust inflection point. Explore key insights from the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer on bui...

Report

2024 Edelman Trust Barometer: Special Report - Trust at Work

September 5, 2024

The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust at Work reveals a new polarization in the wor...

Report

2024 Edelman Trust Barometer: Special Report - Business and Racial Justice

July 10, 2024

The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Business and Racial Justice reveals a stark reality...

Report

2024 Edelman Trust Barometer: Special Report - Brand and Politics

June 13, 2024

The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Brands and Politics explores the intersection of cu...

Report

2024 Edelman Trust Barometer: Special Report - Food and Beverage

May 22, 2024

The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer shows a continued high level of trust in the overall F&B sector. Ho...

Report

2024 Edelman Trust Barometer: Special Report - Trust and Health

April 18, 2024

We explore the idea of health empowerment, and what it means for institutions responsible for the we...

Report

2024 Edelman Trust Barometer: Special Report - Tech Sector

March 7, 2024

The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Supplemental Report: Insights for the Tech Sector finds that techno...

Report

Special Report — Trust and Climate Change 2023

November 15, 2023

The realities of climate change are evident with more frequent and devastating weather events impact...

Report

Special Report — Trust at Work 2023

September 6, 2023

The meaning of work has shifted, and employees across generational divides are demanding a reset....

Report

Special Report — Brand Trust 2023

June 18, 2023

In a volatile world rife with pressures on consumers, from health and the economy to challenges to r...

Report

Special Report — Business and Racial Justice in America 2023

May 17, 2023

More Americans than last year say they are concerned about systemic racism and see little to no prog...

Report

Special Report — Trust and Health 2023

April 18, 2023

The mass-class divide revealed in the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer: Navigating a Polarized World is ...

Report

2022 Special Report: Trust and Climate Change

November 3, 2022

As climate fears worsen and government, business, and media are not trusted to do what is necessary ...

Report

2022 Special Report: Trust in Technology

October 18, 2022

While product innovation and competence have powered Tech’s high trust levels in years’ past, our la...

Report

2022 Special Report: Trust in the Workplace

September 1, 2022

Despite enduring one of the greatest workplace disruptions amid an increasingly polarized world wher...

Report

2022 Special Report: Healthcare Institutional Investors

August 17, 2022

Investors are facing a challenging landscape for growth as global economies face headwinds from infl...

Report

2022 Special Report: The New Cascade of Influence

June 20, 2022

In a social-first world, people are feeling an intense urgency for action that makes progress agains...

Report

2022 Special Report: Business and Racial Justice in America

June 9, 2022

Two years after the murder of George Floyd sparked nationwide demand for systemic change, America's ...

Report

2022 Special Report: The Geopolitical Business

May 23, 2022

At a time when the world has been challenged by geopolitical conflict, economic uncertainty, climate...

Report

2022 Special Report: Food and Beverage

April 27, 2022

Food is a human rights issue, a social justice issue, a climate issue, and a matter of life or death...

Report

2022 Special Report: Trust and Health

March 9, 2022

It is now clearer than ever that trust is a key determinant of health, central to both individual an...

Report

Special Report: Institutional Investors

November 17, 2021

The report identifies pivotal issues shaping global investment criteria and outlines the ways in whi...

Report

Special Report: The Belief-Driven Employee

August 31, 2021

The report examines the new employee-employer contract, requiring business to take a much more ambit...

Report

Special Report: Trust, the New Brand Equity

June 21, 2021

Now brands will need to operate at the intersection of culture, purpose and society. Brands need to ...

Report

Special Report: Trust and the Food and Beverage Sector

April 27, 2021

The triple crises of the Covid-19 pandemic, the related economic downturn, and the urgent need to ad...

Report

Special Analysis: The U.S. Latinx Community and Trust

September 14, 2021

The special analysis on the Hispanic community reveals that while the U.S. Latinx community is optim...

Article

Special Report: Addressing Racism in the U.S.' Financial System

August 4, 2021

Over the past year, Edelman has conducted three studies on the nature of systemic racism in America ...

Insights

Expert views on the political, social and economic factors influencing trust in society.

Article

Reversing the Descent into Grievance

January 19, 2025

Edelman Trust Barometer 2025 highlights rising societal grievance, declining trust, and the urgent n...

Article

The Arrogance of Assumption: How Listening Can Abate Grievance

January 19, 2025

Discover insights from the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer on societal grievance and the need for leade...

Posts

For Business, Pulling Back on Racial Justice is Simply Wrong

July 10, 2024

There has been a significant push against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in Corp...

Article

The New Normal: Your Brand, My Politics

June 13, 2024

Politics has upended the business of brands as consumers buy and boycott to express their politics....

Article

Winning with Gen Z: Embracing Intention and Values for Brand Success

June 13, 2024

Gen Z is a tipping point for action in a polarized, social-first world. They hold immense influence ...

Article

Brands on the Frontline: Strengthening Trust at Times of Political Volatility

June 13, 2024

In an unprecedented time for society and politics globally, people are most concerned about election...

Article

A turning point for patient advocacy

May 22, 2024

Life as a patient or caregiver in the United States has never been more complicated. Despite new bre...

Article

Resurgence of the Doctor as Trusted Health Expert

April 23, 2024

Now in its third year, the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust and Health shows a swi...

Article

Health Empowerment Alone is Not Enough

April 18, 2024

Empowerment is a good thing – most of the time. In healthcare, consumers are increasingly making dec...

Article

Rebuilding Trust in Health by Addressing Information Challenges

April 18, 2024

The vital relationship between personal health and the information people have access to has been ev...

Article

Gen Z Talks 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer

February 6, 2024

The Edelman Trust Institute sat down with Edelman Gen Z employees who work with clients across diffe...

Article

The Innovation Fault Line

January 18, 2024

CEOs are expected to lead in introducing innovations to society at a time when innovation itself is ...

Article

Innovation: The Trust Test for Business

January 14, 2024

Major elections around the world in 2024 highlight continued polarization. Institutions must change ...

Article

Closing the Trust Gap in a 2024 Bumper Election Year

January 14, 2024

Innovation is accelerating in society, from to gene-based medicine to artificial intelligence. When ...

Article

Trust and Brands: The Collapse of the Purchase Funnel

June 18, 2023

Edelman’s most recent Trust Barometer special report, The Collapse of the Purchase Funnel, finds tha...

Article

Three Mandates Marketers Must Adopt to Build Brand Trust in 2023

June 18, 2023

When we ask ourselves, what has really changed in the last year? The truth is that everything has. C...

Article

Gen Z Harnesses Vulnerabilities, Asking Brands to Stand Up for All Consumers

June 18, 2023

The Edelman Trust Institute sat down with Bianca Brown, Senior Account Executive and a U.K. Ambassad...

Article

Executives Are Disconnected from Their Employees on Racial Justice Progress

May 17, 2023

We need a clear framework for measurement and progress on racial justice and DEI. Without that, we w...

Article

America’s Executives Are Out of Touch with the Lived Reality of Race in the Workplace

May 17, 2023

Three years after the collective wake-up call wrought by the murder of George Floyd, new Edelman dat...

Article

Trust Reveals Fractures in the Health System

April 18, 2023

Economic fears, expansive expectations, and systemic concerns combine for inverse realities in healt...

Article

Addressing the Economics of a Health Crisis

April 18, 2023

It should come as no surprise that the macroeconomic landscape is profoundly impacting health realit...

Article

Maintaining Trust as the Definition of Health Evolves

April 18, 2023

Health has become multifaceted, and those who can bring solutions forward have a responsibility to s...

EVENTS, PODCASTS

Hear from Edelman executives and leading voices about navigating the shifting dynamics of trust.

Events & Podcasts

Special Report: Trust, the New Brand Equity Launch Event

June 3, 2021

Panelists include: Emma Grede, co-founder and CEO, Good American; Amanda O’Neal, Director, Brand Soc...

REPORTS ARCHIVE

Access to Edelman's data, research and insights on societal trust.

2024 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER
Innovation in Peril

2023 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER
Navigating a Polarized World

2022 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER
The Cycle of Distrust

2021 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER
Declaring Information Bankruptcy

2020 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER
Trust: Competence & Ethics

2019 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER
Trust at Work

2018 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER
The Battle for Truth

CONTACT US

Interested in learning more? Get in touch with our Trust team.