Red alert: America suffers record drop in trust; China rises

The United States is facing the worst collapse in the trust of institutions — businesses, media, NGOs, government — ever recorded in the history of the Edelman Trust Barometer, an annual survey. Chinese were atop the rankings for growing trust in institutions.

Bottom line: The lack of faith in government is the main driver of trust collapse in the U.S., according to the study, part of a trend driving populist politics throughout the West. Meanwhile in China, high confidence in government and state-run media was matched by increased trust in business as China’s middle class grows and as mega Chinese internet companies like Alibaba and Tencent expand into international markets, according to Edelman CEO Richard Edelman.  

Go deeper: the full Edelman report.