Trust in Retreat: What the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer Means for Communicators in APAC

Now in its 26th year, the Edelman Trust Barometer surveys nearly 34,000 people across 28 countries to measure trust in institutions — business, government, media, and NGOs. This year's APAC findings tell a concerning story: trust isn't just declining, it's turning inward.

The Rise of Insularity

The headline theme for 2026 is insularity — a widespread reluctance to trust anyone who is different from you. This follows a pattern Edelman has been tracking for years: from polarisation (the belief that divisions are entrenched) to grievance (resentment at a system that feels rigged), and now to insularity.

Globally, 7 in 10 people are hesitant or unwilling to trust someone different from them in values, beliefs, lifestyle, or approach to solving problems. In APAC, the picture is equally stark:

• Japan is the most insular market at 89%

• Singapore and South Korea sit at 74%

• Australia is at 73%

• By contrast, India — with its diverse media environment — is among the least insular at 48%

Delicia Tan, CEO of Edelman in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, noted that insularity tends to grow where people's information sources narrow. "As people retreat into narrower information environments, trust becomes more conditional and confined to what feels familiar," she said.

Economic Anxiety Is Fuelling Distrust

Fears about jobs and financial security are at record highs, and they're shaping how people view institutions:

• Two in three employees worry that trade and tariff conflicts will hurt their employer — up eight points since 2019

• Two in three also fear recession-related job loss — up six points since 2020

• Only one in three people across the 28 markets believe the next generation will be better off — a four-point drop from last year

• Singapore, Thailand, India, and China all recorded double-digit declines in optimism about the future

For Australia, there was a five-point uptick in optimism — though Tan cautioned this was measured in November 2025, before the recent energy crisis and political shifts took hold.

Disinformation Is a Growing Concern

Concerns about foreign actors deliberately spreading misinformation to inflame domestic divisions have reached an all-time high. Sixty-five per cent of respondents globally worry about this, up 11 points since 2021. Six of nine APAC markets recorded double-digit increases.

The rise of independent and informal media — podcasters, former politicians with microphones, and unregulated online voices — is making this harder to manage, particularly across Southeast Asia.

What This Means for Communicators

So what can communications professionals do? Tan offered some practical guidance:

• Think local, not global. In an age of insularity, people trust what feels close to home. Organisations that invest in local relationships, local hiring, and genuine community presence will build more durable trust than those pushing top-down global messaging.

• Leverage your CEO — carefully. People don't trust CEOs in general, but they do trust their own CEO. Internal communications and visible leadership on issues that affect employees directly — jobs, workplace values, economic uncertainty — carry far more weight than public positioning on broad societal issues.

• Build trust before you need it. Organisations that wait for a crisis to start earning goodwill are already behind. Trust is built incrementally, through consistent actions that align with stated values.

• Bring people together. The role of the communicator, Tan argued, is fundamentally about bridging divides — surfacing shared interests, translating different realities, and creating spaces for genuine connection.

A Note of Optimism

Despite the "mushroom cloud of doom," as Tan put it, three-quarters of respondents globally recognise that distrust is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. That awareness — felt across all 28 markets — is itself a starting point.

For APAC communicators, the challenge is real but the opportunity is clear: in a fragmented, inward-looking world, the professionals who know how to build genuine connections across difference will be the most valuable people in any organisation.

The full 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer APAC report is available at edelman.com.