{"id":25972,"date":"2026-03-26T19:55:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T19:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/?post_type=rbc_tl&p=25972\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T12:54:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T12:54:24","slug":"trust-but-verify-the-battle-to-fix-the-crisis-of-credibility","status":"publish","type":"rbc_tl","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/innovation\/trust-but-verify-the-battle-to-fix-the-crisis-of-credibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Trust but verify: The battle to fix the crisis of credibility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article is a companion to the Disruptors episode<\/a> on how Wikipedia platform built credibility through community, transparency and a shared commitment to neutrality – Trust at Scale: Lessons from Wikipedia<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Something has shifted in how people relate to institutions. Across the OECD, more people now distrust their national government than trust it. In Canada, only 48% express confidence in the federal government, down from the high 50s before the pandemic.1<\/a><\/sup> An Ipsos survey captured the trajectory: trust in government to do what is right fell from 58% in 2019 to 43% by 2022.2<\/a><\/sup> Meanwhile, the 2025 CanTrust Index found that politicians are trusted by just 17% of Canadians, the lowest in a decade of tracking, and 6 in 10 say political parties are divisive forces.3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media and AI-generated content have accelerated the decline, with nearly half of Canadians now believing that AI will make information sources less trustworthy. Algorithms reward outrage over accuracy, flooding public discourse with polarizing content and AI-generated noise. As Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, observed on a recent RBC Disruptors<\/em> podcast, platforms incentivize bad behaviour through engagement: \u201cyou act like a jerk and you get engagement.\u201d4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wales\u2019 latest book Seven Rules of Trust\u2014A Blueprint for Building Things That Last, <\/em>focuses on the global crisis of credibility and knowledge. <\/em>Both are in short supply: The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer found 73% of Canadians unwilling to trust someone with different values or information sources.5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The consequences of mistrust are far-reaching and having real impact: In Slovakia\u2019s 2023 election, a deepfake audio clip impersonating a political party leader went viral during a legally mandated campaign silence period, leaving journalists no window to respond.6<\/a><\/sup> In the United States, an AI-generated robocall mimicking President Joe Biden urged New Hampshire voters to stay home during the 2024 primary.7<\/a><\/sup> Similar incidents surfaced in Bangladesh, Turkey, and India. The German Marshall Fund tracked 133 deepfake incidents tied to elections across dozens of countries.8<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n