Across international surveys, 70% of respondents report they’re hesitant or unwilling to trust others who have different values, backgrounds, approaches to social issues or information sources, the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer finds.
Other factors are deepening this social insularity. One is economic anxiety, with two-thirds of employees worried that trade policies and tariffs will hurt their employer. Among low-income and middle-income respondents, 54% and 44%, respectively, believe generative AI will leave them behind, rather than benefit them.
In countries around the world, only 32% of respondents believe the next generation will be better off, with lows in France (6%), Germany (8%, down 6 points), Canada (16%) and the U.S. (21%, down 9 points).
Low-income respondents report having less trust in institutions than high-income respondents have, the research finds. On average, low-income respondents see institutions as 18 points less competent than high-income respondents see institutions, and 15 points less ethical.
Some 65% of respondents worry that foreign actors are injecting falsehoods into national media to inflame domestic divisions. Only 39% get news from ideologically different sources at least once a week.
“People are retreating from dialogue and compromise,” said Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman. “Nearly 7 in 10 fear institutional leaders are deliberately misleading the public.”
Some 42% of employees surveyed say they would rather switch departments than report to a manager whose values differ from their own.
Illustration credit: lucile
