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Trust in Australian media at an all time low suggests Edelman survey

Trust in Australian media has fallen to an all time low as three out of the four institutions – business, media, government and NGO’s – are considered as ‘distrusted’, according to Edelman’s Trust Barometer.

Spurr said: “The implications of the global trust crisis are deep and wide-ranging.”

The Edelman Trust Barometer is the public relations firm’s trust and credibility survey, sampling over 33,000 respondents across 28 countries.

Trust in media fell by 10% with only 32% of those surveyed saying they trust the media, while trust in government fell 8% to 37%, making it the second largest drop out of all the countries surveyed.

More than half of those surveyed 959%) believe the current institutional system is failing them, saying they feel a sense of injustice, lack of hope, need for change and a lack of confidence.

CEO credibility dropped 13 points to an all time low of 26%, with 56% of participants saying a ‘person like yourself’ is just as credible as an academic or technical expert.

Steve Spurr, CEO of Edelman, said: “Already evident across the globe, is a noticeable shift towards protectionism and policies which favour the domestic and distance the global – addressing clear concerns coming from the population. The top three concerns are globalisation (71%), eroding social values (62%) and immigration (60 %).”

The study revealed 56% of Australian’s believe globalisation is taking the country in the wrong direction.

While half of the Australian population have concerns for eroding social values, immigration, corruption and pace of innovation.

Spurr said: “Business is at a critical juncture where it has the opportunity to rebuild trust but can only do so by responding to the concerns and fears of Australians and accepting the need to do things differently.”

“An overwhelming 63% of Australians want businesses to pay their fair share of taxes, they want them to have ethical business practices and to treat their employees well. It’s time for companies to do more. Business leaders must stand up for issues that matter to society.”

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