Spanish society is the most distrustful in the world. This is demonstrated by the Edelman Trust Barometer 2025. Only companies generate some trust, but, even so, they pass with a low score (6 out of 10). Media and government, in unison, fail. Hello, is anyone there taking notes?
The Edelman Trust Barometer is a global thermometer that analyzes in depth and with enormous experience (it has just celebrated its 25th anniversary) the state of trust in the world. Yes, trust, that intangible that, however, can shake the most powerful structure and that everyone seems to want to feel. Not for nothing was the main slogan of Davos 2025: ‘Rebuilding trust’. So, no one can deny that trust has become a strategic value, even if it is not seen or touched.
Confidence, according to the RAE, is the firm hope that one has for someone or something and, according to the conclusions of this edition – which for some reason has been titled “From polarization to social discontent” -, hope, little, although it is said that it is the last thing to be lost.
For those surveyed, only companies (especially in the technology, energy, food, healthcare and transportation sectors) are saved by being considered competent and ethical, because NGOs, media and government all fail on one or the other. This is no laughing matter.
Lucía Carballeda and Pelayo Alonso, co-heads of Edelman Spain, revealed in the interview we had in El elefante verde on the occasion of the presentation of the Edelman Trust Barometer 2025, that without trust there is no legitimacy and without it, there is no listening or collective action, and that, therefore, it has real consequences such as isolating leaders and institutions or blocking the necessary and perhaps urgent transformations needed to move forward.
Carballeda emphasized the need to view the report with perspective. While the conclusions of this year’s edition are worse compared to last year’s, he pointed out that circumstances have improved over the past decade. He believes it should be regarded as “a wake-up call” and an opportunity. “Citizens are still seeking trustworthy individuals, although their expectations are becoming increasingly high.” This, he notes, represents a significant opportunity.
Call to action
Indeed, in every crisis there is an opportunity, and it is a matter of listening, commitment and coherence on the part of the institutions, and that they get down to work.
There is no justification for saying that we do not know what is happening, or what citizens want, or what they need…. Studies and reports such as this one allow us to answer many of the questions that all types of organizations ask ourselves in order to know how to interact with our audiences.
If companies are considered the most ethical and competent, it is thanks to the work that has been done in taking action and communicating it, in transparency, which, not only in Spain, has become a fundamental element of trust.
But trust has to be earned. And it has to be nurtured. We all remember Groucho Marx’s phrase: “These are my principles, but if you don’t like them, I have others”. The massive change in the communication strategies of many American companies in the face of the anti-sustainability threat – in the broadest sense of the term – of Trump and his entourage reveals either a massive withdrawal of masks greenwashing of those who had only joined a Marquetinian fashion but who in reality neither believed nor supported it; or the cowardice of those who, although believing in these principles, hide to practice them without light and stenographers, lest the master gets angry… How can one not lose confidence in the face of so much demagogy?
Communication plays a crucial role in today’s business environment. Companies are facing increased scrutiny, and consumers are becoming more aware of how brands operate. People are not only judging brands based on the quality of their products but also on their actions, positioning on certain issues, and how they communicate their stories. Annual findings from the Edelman Trust Barometer 2025 highlight the significance of trust in driving business success. These findings also provide valuable tools for informed listening, enabling us to recommend decisions grounded in reality that can help propel us forward.
