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What Fake News Tells Us About Trust

G E T C O N S U M E R S M A R T

What Fake News Tel l s Us About Trus t

It’s hard to avoid the contagious discussion around “fake news” at the moment. The

widespread distribution of controversial facts published under the guise of being real

news has led to heated debate from many politicians, brands and individuals as they

question the reliability of information on the internet and its impact on what we believe to

be true.

The once-credible big news outlets are now having to defend their value with a recent

report from the PEW Research Center citing that only two in ten Americanstrust the

information they get from local news organisations a lot, whether online or offline1. But

these feelings of distrust are not limited to news outlets and government. According to a

study titled “The Truth About America”, 42% of Americans also say that brands and

companies are less truthful today than they were 20 years ago.2 While fake news is most

strongly associated with the political sphere, its spread has profound implications for

brands as it sheds light on a huge shift in the very basis of trust.

WHAT IS FAKE NEWS? Fake news, deemed word of the year for 2016 by the Australian Macquarie Dictionary, is

defined as “disinformation and hoaxes published on websites for political purposes or to

drive web traffic” and “incorrect information being passed along by social media”.3

Along a similar thread, Oxford Dictionaries declared “post-truth” to be its international

word of the year 2016. Editors said that use of the term had increased by around 2,000%

in 2016 compared to the previous year.4

At its core, fake news has moved beyond sensational headlines to become a societal

mindset where objective facts have arguably become less influential than appealing to

emotions. As a consequence of this shift in perception, fake news is severely altering the

way we consume media and what is accepted as truth.

AN ACCELERATING SPIRAL OF DECLINE

Fuelled by the rise of self-publication and a digital social network of our closest contacts,

content as a whole is now less verified. Additionally, information is being consumed more

quickly, with many people getting their information in sound bites and headlines through

viral sharing on social media, where stories spread at an uncontrollable rate.

1 PEW Research Centre: http://www.journalism.org/2016/07/07/trust-and-accuracy/ 2 McCann Truth Central's "The Truth About America", http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/politically-divided-usa-is-also-challenging-brands-mccann-finds-in-new-truth-about-america-study-300433721.html 3 https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jan/25/fake-news-named-word-of-the-year-by-macquarie-dictionary 4 https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/15/post-truth-named-word-of-the-year-by-oxford-dictionaries

G E T C O N S U M E R S M A R T

What Fake News Tel l s Us About Trust

The growing collective distrust of the establishment has led consumers to seek out new

sources of information, often through less official sources. An Edelman report found that

“trust in authority is draining away and being replaced by trust in those closest to us and

most like us. The UK population trusts their family and friends over four times more than

political parties and leaders.”5 Many consumers will believe advice from their inner circle

before a brand claim, and this mindset is seeping into consumer purchase behaviour.

“Trust has been so corroded that we now trust leaked

information much more than traditional news sources; and

algorithms over human editors.”6

A TRANSFER OF TRUST At first glance, it appears that that the growth of fake news is the latest symptom of the

way trust is deteriorating. But trust is so integral to the way that we make decisions that

we would be lost without it; instead is it simply the way in which we interpret and build

trust that has changed?

Rachel Botsman, an author and lecturer at Oxford University, argues that people are

increasingly putting their faith in peer-to-peer networks and that businesses must learn

how to adapt to this shift.

“Trust underpins so much of our lives, so many of our

transactions, it’s vital we understand the changed mechanics

of building it.”7

She continues “Why is it that people no longer trust their bank but can be persuaded to

offer their house to strangers (Airbnb); get in a car with an unknown driver (Uber) or no

driver at all (self-driving cars); go on a chancy date (Tinder); or exchange cryptocurrency

(Bitcoin)?” Technology is rewriting the rules and creating what I call ‘distributed trust’,

trust that works across huge networks of people, organisations and intelligent machines.”8

Botsman’s theory of distributed trust makes a lot of sense, if we look at the way fake news

has grown via social media and viral stories. So if trust is being reapplied to new systems,

5 Edelman: https://www.edelman.co.uk/magazine/posts/edelman-trust-barometer-2017-uk-findings/ 6 Edelman, 2017 Trust Barometer 7 Rachel Botsman, Oxford University; https://magazine.contagious.com/articles/the-genius-survey-2017 8 Rachel Botsman, Oxford University; https://magazine.contagious.com/articles/the-genius-survey-2017

G E T C O N S U M E R S M A R T

What Fake News Tel l s Us About Trus t

spread across multiple smaller interactions, then what does this mean for the brand-

consumer relationship?

IMPLICATIONS FOR BRANDS

Trust is a crucial factor in driving decisions and purchases, making it vital for business; if

brands want to earn trust, it is first important that they understand how it is built today.

Symptoms such as the growth of fake news can tell brands a huge amount about where

people are placing their trust, and there are several strategies brands can adopt to build

trust in a world where trust is spread across networks of peers. Transparency is key,

aligning with higher purposes or simply integrating reviews into services; what helps to

build trust will be different for every company and industry but it remains a critical

component in successful modern branding.

G E T C O N S U M E R S M A R T

What Fake News Tel l s Us About Trust

If you are interested in learning more about the subject of this article, please contact

Kelsey Gardner, Senior Strategic Planner, gardnerk@bbdoknows.com.

ABOUT BBDO KNOWS

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BBDO KNOWS offers thinking, strategy, insights and inspiration on key categories, key

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If you are interested in learning more about the way BBDO thinks please contact Melanie

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