Every brand wants to be trusted. The data from 2026 suggests that trust is harder to win than at any point in recent memory, and that the routes to earning it are changing.
A low-trust environment
The Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report 2026 found trust in news across 48 markets at 37%, the lowest since it began measuring in 2015. Trust in news found via social media was 22%, and in AI-generated answers 20%.
The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer, based on almost 34,000 people in 28 countries, describes a society retreating into insularity. Seven in ten respondents said they were unwilling or hesitant to trust someone with different values or information sources. Major news organisations have lost 11 points of net trust over five years.
There is a counterpoint in the Edelman data. Business remains comparatively trusted at 64%, ahead of government at 53%, and employees’ trust in their own employer stands at 78%. People still extend trust, but to organisations and voices they feel close to and know well.
What that means for B2B brands
In a low-trust world, credibility is borrowed as much as it is built. Being covered by a publication your buyers already rely on, or quoted as an expert alongside respected peers, transfers some of that publication’s standing to you. Advertising alone cannot do that.
Earlier Edelman and LinkedIn research on B2B thought leadership found that 75% of decision makers said a piece of thought leadership had led them to research a product or service they had not previously considered, and 86% said they were likely to invite a consistent producer of quality thought leadership to take part in an RFP.
Four ways to build credibility now
- Be specific. Expertise in a defined sector is more believable than broad claims.
- Put people forward. Named executives with a clear point of view build trust faster than corporate statements.
- Earn it in the right places. Coverage in the trade and specialist titles your buyers read carries more weight than reach for its own sake.
- Back it with evidence. Original data and transparent sourcing are the clearest signals of good faith.
Specialist media is built on exactly this kind of trust. It is why we believe titles like UKTN and PropertyWire, and the earned coverage City Road Communications secures for clients, become more valuable as general trust falls.