The 2026 edition of the Edelman Trust Barometer provides an updated diagnosis of how trust in major institutions -businesses, governments, media, and social organizations- is evolving in an international context marked by polarization, public discontent, and the weakening of collective bonds. The study is based on an online survey of 33,938 people across 28 countries, allowing for a broad and comparative snapshot of the global social climate.

Under the title Trust Amid Insularity, the report introduces a particularly meaningful insight: the crisis of trust is no longer limited to a loss of institutional credibility, but is advancing toward a deeper phase of social withdrawal. Trust is no longer projected toward the common good and instead increasingly retreats into ever closer and more homogeneous spaces.

The data in the study reinforce this interpretation and outline several key trends:

• Polarization, accompanied by a growing sense of resentment toward the system, is consolidating as the dominant emotional climate.
• Businesses continue, for another year, to be the institution that generates the highest levels of trust.
• Trust is increasingly concentrated in the immediate environment, especially in the relationship with one’s employer.
• A majority of people acknowledge reluctance to trust someone who does not share their values or cultural context.
• As a strategic response to the current context, the report advocates for “trust brokering”.

> If you would like to explore this diagnosis in greater depth and discover more key trends on the evolution of trust globally, download the full report.

> You can also consult our one-page analysis here.