Trust in traditional media at a five-year high in Singapore, according to Edelman survey
In Singapore, trust in traditional media was at a five-year high. The percentage of people who rely on it as a credible source of information stood at 71% according to Edelman’s Trust Barometer findings. Online search was also viewed as a credible source of information by 66%.
The research suggested that in times of uncertainty, Singapore’s population were more inclined to actively seek out, consume and share news and information. People actively sharing news and information had increased to 76%.
Social media’s trust ranking at a lowly 46% showed that the medium was still regarded with suspicion.
According to Edelman, 73% of Singaporeans were concerned about false information or fake news being weaponised.
The findings were not particularly surprising, considering the Singapore government’s campaigns against misinformation on social media and calls for legislation to protect citizens from deliberate online falsehoods.
The most trusted relationship in Singapore was with the “employer”, chosen by 74% of Singaporeans. This was in line with Edelman’s findings for the rest of the world, where 75% picked “my employer” as the most trusted relationship.
According to the company’s president and CEO Richard Edelman: “The last decade has seen a loss of faith in traditional authority figures and institutions.
“More recently, people have lost confidence in the social platforms that fostered peer-to-peer trust. These forces have led people to shift their trust to the relationships within their control, most notably their employers.”
Edelman Singapore CEO John Kerr added: “Given the data breaches and data privacy concerns in Singapore and around the world, it is no surprise that Singaporeans are concerned about the security of their own data and information.”
The trust report was based on an online survey of over 33,000 people in 27 markets around the world. In Singapore, 1,150 respondents over the age of 18 were surveyed.
You can read the full report here.
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