Trust Funds
Trust, as the saying goes, takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair. Fox Quarterly investigates how AI is shaping the perception of truth – and what to do when things go wrong
Behind any successful brand is a level of trust built over time. Public relations (or reputation management) and advertising have long been ways of helping maintain that trust. Unfortunately, today’s information ecosystem, polarised by social media and now turbocharged by new AI tools, can mean these disciplines are insufficient, or even contribute to a collapse in trust.
The information ecosystem, of course, is in a constant state of evolution. The past two decades have seen brands and marketers embrace social media as these new channels decimated traditional media and retail. To take just one example, we only need to look at the exponential growth of influencer marketing in recent years, with more than 80 per cent of luxury purchases now said to be digitally influenced.
Now it is AI is revolutionising the information ecosystem. The British government, for instance, has been actively courting the big American AI firms to invest in the UK and is trying to introduce new copyright laws that encourage their operations. But this creates potential threats to established brands.
In March, Walpole, the trade body for Britain’s biggest luxury brands, urged the Government to ‘rethink its plan’ to reform copyright. Big names such as Burberry, Dunhill, Alexander McQueen and Mulberry are concerned that AI tools trained on copyright-infringing material could replicate their unique designs and images, undermining their creative integrity and even encouraging counterfeiters. Advancements in technology have meant high-end duplicates emerging, making it increasingly challenging for consumers to differentiate between authentic and fake items.
Elsewhere, technology can also mean that advertising itself contributes to disinformation. Consider, for example, the rise of ‘programmatic advertising’ over the past 10 years: a complex system of real-time bidding that pits advertisers in an auction for ad-space allocation. Sometimes this can lead to a loss of control of who advertises where, and in some circumstances big advertisers have found themselves adjacent to counterfeiters or even radical pressure groups on the same social media platforms.
When Trust Breaks Down
It is easy to understand, then, why consumers are finding it increasingly difficult to trust the messages they are receiving from brands. Conversely, it is difficult for the brands’ reputation managers to judge whether damaging stories or customer complaints are genuine.
We know from Edelman’s most recent (2025) Trust Barometer report that trust levels in most UK societal institutions – as they are across the Western world – are in steady decline, with only 43 per cent of people trusting government, media and charities ‘to do what is right’. Trust in business and brands has held up a little better but if brands are to survive in the longer-term, they must employ new strategies and tools to identify and address AI-generated content and misinformation.
Crucially, in such a fast-moving information ecosystem, they need to be ready to respond in real time. Brands that are already investing in a strong social strategy – with a clear tone of voice, credible presence across channels and a community-first mindset – are better equipped to spot when something’s off, and to move with necessary speed.
That said, the tools and processes behind the scenes matter just as much. Today’s media world requires ‘always-on’ monitoring (not just retrospective mentions). It isn’t just about spotting a spike in volume of mentions but also recognising shifts in tone, changes in the type of content being shared and understanding how narratives are evolving and gaining traction. This kind of nuance is critical when it comes to identifying misinformation early and responding effectively.
There are established monitoring tools available, such as Brandwatch, but some reputation managers believe it is still too reliant on X, which has become increasingly unreliable given the volume of bot activity, AI-generated content and general chaos on the platform.
Alternatives include Pulsar, which pulls from X, LinkedIn, Reddit, YouTube, forums, news and even search trends. All can help brands better track content patterns, spot emerging conversations and flag potential issues before they escalate. Some use tools such as Onclusive to monitor whether misinformation has crossed into earned media, and to search trend data to track what people are actively looking for – particularly when they’ve been misinformed.
Combatting Misinformation
Research shows that we forget 70 per cent of what we learn within 24 hours if it’s not reinforced. Of course, spotting mis- or dis-information is just part of the story. You also need to know what to do when it lands. This means having clear criteria for what counts as a misinformation incident. It requires defined escalation processes (who needs to know, and when) and ready-to-go content formats for response, from owned social posts to internal FAQs and spokesperson briefs.
When Peter (now Lord) Mandelson oversaw media crisis management for the Labour Party, his motto was “if you don’t know what to say, say nothing, but don’t say nothing for long, because someone else will fill the void with more damaging information to you.” With today’s social media, crises move even faster. When something false is circulating, silence doesn’t work. The brand must respond quickly, clearly and transparently – across both internal and external channels.
But all this is best-practice reputation management in the age of social media and AI-driven misinformation, not just during a crisis. Successful PR today relies on active community management: correcting and engaging where needed, and empowering advocates across the business – from execs to customer support – with the right tools to reinforce the truth.
In short, good brands that are proactive win trust, brands that wait to react are already behind.
Image sources: Friday Things, Youtube, Midjourney, SBS News
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