Edelman has now been running its annual trust survey for a quarter of a century, and the global communications company says this year’s findings are particularly alarming.

The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer Released on Sunday, it found there is an unprecedented lack of faith in institutional leaders, with an all-time high of 70% of respondents saying they believe government officials, business leaders and journalists are deliberately misleading them.

A protester uses a megaphone during a demonstration outside the Apollo Theater as New York City Mayor Eric Adams delivers his fourth and potentially final State of the City address in Harlem on January 9, 2025 in the city of new york (Kena Betancur/VIEWpress/Getty Images)

The survey, which polled 33,000 people in 28 countries, also found that the fear of being a victim of discrimination is at an all-time high. In the US alone, 50% of the white population expressed feeling discriminated against, while more than 60% felt harmed. due to inflationrisk of job loss and downward social mobility.

The findings also indicated an unprecedented decline in business confidence worldwide.

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“Among the hard hit, their observed experience is: you have high inflation, you have job risk, globalization and (people wonder), ‘Do businesses really take care of us?'” he said Edelman CEO Richard Edelman.

“I think it’s a time for businesses to do better,” he said FOX business in an interview “Re-skill, pay good wages, have affordable products and do what business does best, which is to make an impact on making a profit.”

Another trend shown in the findings is that there is a lack of hope for the next generation. Confidence in a better future is just 36%, with lows in all Western democracies, including France (9%), the UK (17%) and the US (30%).

People are also increasingly seeing violence as a solution to their grievances, with 4 in 10 respondents and 53% of 18-34 year olds saying they approve of violence, property damage or misinformation as tools for change.

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At the same time, 67 percent of respondents said they believe the rich take more than their fair share, three-quarters overall report having financial problems because of inflation, and respondents increasingly see capitalism as a failure due to their economic situation, with 55% of respondents. % of 18-34 year olds who say capitalism does more harm than good.

Disney employees gather outside the main entrance of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California on July 17, 2024, ahead of a planned strike authorization vote. Distrust of institutions, including businesses, has soared around the world, according to the latest (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)

“It’s amazing to me that half the people in our study now wonder if capitalism works, that’s bad,” Edelman said, suggesting that the reason may be because capitalism has worked for the few and the few. well for others, or possibly because of how it has been positioned by certain politicians.

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“But we have to make sure people believe the system works,” he said. “And it’s not just the political system, it’s the economic systeminjustice And I think the last thing that’s happened that’s really important over the years is the battle for truth and the breakdown of the information system.”