Waning trust in governments and all types of media is threatening to limit the rollout of coronavirus vaccines around the world, particularly in the U.S.,
Business is now the most trusted institution globally, according to the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer which shows it overtaking NGOs for the first time, while governments have squandered the trust people placed in them during the first months of the pandemic; media remains least trusted.
Pandemic fuels culture of institutional mistrust
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This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum.
Author: Richard Edelman, President, Edelman
2020 was the year of two equally destructive viruses: the pandemic and the infodemic.
Global report highlights that government and media, the usual sources of verifiable information in a crisis, have failed to meet the test.
Faced with a daily diet of misinformation, 61% of people surveyed have turned to business as the last bastion of ‘truth’.
One year ago, the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer found trust across institutions was damaged by pervasive fears of job loss to automation and downward mobility, despite a strong global economy and near full employment. Today, the COVID-19 pandemic with more than 1.9 million lives lost and joblessness equivalent to the Great Depression has accelerated the erosion of trust.
Mint Lite | Lebanese shutdown, Trust ebbs in post covid world, Uganda & more
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A street is empty of cars during a lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus, in Beirut, Lebanon
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Lebanese authorities began enforcing an 11-day nationwide shutdown and round the clock curfew Thursday, hoping to limit the spread of coronavirus infections spinning out of control after the holiday period. For the first time, residents were required to request a one-hour permit to be allowed to leave the house for “emergencies, including going to the bakery, pharmacist, doctor, hospital or airport. Meanwhile, Germany, Britain and the Netherlands indicated strict covid-19 curbs would last into early February and Italy said it would extend its state of emergency to the end of April.