The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals a growing shift toward insularity that is reshaping how trust is built, raising new challenges and opportunities for communicators, business leaders, and organizations navigating an increasingly fragmented world.

The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer underscores the critical role of communicators in combating misinformation and rebuilding trust amid deep societal grievances and widespread mistrust.

This presents a golden opportunity for managers to adopt a player-coach relationship with their teams, fostering trust and empowering high performance.

In a prelude to the World Economic Forum, the latest 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer lays bare a concerning schism between innovation and society, becoming a key driver of heightened polarization. Unveiling a significant disparity, the study discloses that almost two-thirds of respondents see innovation as inadequately managed.

A stark divide between the masses is being witnessed in the healthcare sector, as showcased by the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer special report titled "Navigating a Polarized World."

The 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals that business is now viewed as the only global institution to be both competent and ethical. Business now holds a staggering 53-point lead over government in competence and is 30 points ahead on ethics.