By Hamish Mackay in the Scottish Review
A majority of people around the world are concerned that they are being lied to by journalists according to a new extensive worldwide survey. The trust survey, conducted by American PR firm Edelman, found that, globally, 67% of people declared that they believe that journalists purposely try to mislead people by reporting things which they know are false or grossly exaggerated – an increase of 8% on Edelman’s survey in 2021.
Press Gazette reports that Edelman’s Annual Trust Barometer for 2022 also found that trust in the media had fallen globally with concern over fake news at an all-time high, and points out: ‘Faith in the media fell in 15 countries with the US among those reporting the biggest drops. Just 39% of people in the US said that they trust the media – down six points compared to the previous survey.
‘Fewer Brits (35%) also said they trusted the media – a decrease of two points. The UK and the US are among 14 countries where the Edelman survey says that the media is generally distrusted. In contrast, in some authoritarian states such as China and Saudi Arabia, more respondents said that they trust the media.’
In most countries, there has been increasing concern over fake news. The survey found that, globally, just one in two people currently trust the media – this emerging on reviewing feedback from more than 36,000 people in 28 markets worldwide. And 56% of people declared that the media was a divisive force in society, while just 35% said the media contributed to making societies more cohesive.
Press Gazette adds: ‘The report also found that concern over fake news – a phrase probably most associated with former US President Donald Trump – was higher than ever. More than three quarters (76%) of people said they were concerned that false information and fake news could be used as a weapon’.
Concern over fake news ranged from 84% of people in Spain to 63% in The Netherlands. In the UK, it found that 65% of people worry about misinformation and disinformation. Australia and the US reported some of the biggest falls in media trust.
When it comes to types of media sources, the Edelman survey found just 37% of people said that they trusted social media – a decrease of 8% on 2021. However, traditional media also saw a significant erosion of trust, with less than 57% people saying they trusted mainstream sources – a 5% decrease on last year. Russia (39%), Japan (39%) and the US (43%) are among the countries where traditional media is least trusted.
Search engines meanwhile scored 59% – down 3%. The only type of media to see a small uptake in trust was ‘owned media’ – the in-house communications channels of businesses. But with a trust score of 43%, that was still far behind traditional media.
While the Edelman survey found that trust had declined across institutions as a whole, overall, there was less faith in government and media, with more people having confidence in businesses and NGOs.
The authors of the Edelman report say that the survey revealed ‘a vicious cycle of distrust fuelled by government and media’, and they reckoned: ‘This vicious cycle of distrust threatens societal stability. It’s a death grip where media is chasing clicks and government is chasing votes – both feeding a cycle of disinformation and division and exploiting it for commercial and political gain’.
Chicago-headquartered Edelman is claimed to be the largest public relations firm in the world by revenue and has 6,000 employees.
Hamish Mackay is media correspondent of The Scottish Review