Is trust dead?

Trust in the government has fallen in 2017.

(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

published 25 January 2017

A new Edelman survey found global trust in government, businesses, non-governmental organizations, and the media all plummeted in 2016, Quartz reports. Only 37 percent of people say they trust CEOs, down 12 percentage points from last year, and only 29 percent of respondents said they trust government leaders. Just 43 percent of them had faith in the press, with trust in the media falling to an all-time low in 17 of the 28 countries polled. Overall, 53 percent of participants across income and education levels felt "the system" — referring to the four aforementioned institutions — is "failing them." Thirty-two percent were "uncertain," and just 15 percent think the system is working fine.

Edelman has been conducting its annual Trust Barometer survey for 20 years, with the latest report polling some 33,000 people around the world. Dig into the full report here.

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Kelly Gonsalves is a sex and culture writer exploring love, lust, identity, and feminism. Her work has appeared at Bustle, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, and more, and she previously worked as an associate editor for The Week. She's obsessed with badass ladies doing badass things, wellness movements, and very bad rom-coms.