The document summarizes survey results from the UK general population regarding trust in institutions, acceptability of government deception, and the impacts of government secrecy. Key findings include: - The British military is more trusted (60%) than the UK government (46%) - National security and secret missions are seen as the most acceptable contexts for government dishonesty (52% and 54%) - Deception decreases trust in the government and makes people wonder what else they are hiding (74% and 66%) - Coming clean after deception makes the deception more acceptable to 55% and would cause 38% to trust the government more - 73% of respondents prefer increased military funding over deception tactics

1. Edelman
Disinformation & Trust

2. 2
Percent trust in each organisation
BRITISH MILITARY MORE TRUSTED THAN THE UK
GOVERNMENT
60%
46%
34%
28%
9% 9%
The British Military NATO The British
Government
The US Military The Chinese Military The Russian Military
Q1: How much do you trust each of the following to do what is right? [Top 4 Box, Trust] Base UK: General Population (n=1,000)
Picture Credit: Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
Trust
(60-100)
Neutral
(50-59)
Distrust
(1-49)

3. 3
Q2: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following
statements? Base UK: General Population (n=1,000)
THE PUBLIC KNOW
THAT IT IS NOT
ALWAYS POSSIBLE
TO BE TOTALLY
HONEST
54%
say that sometimes it's
better to keep something
from someone in order to
protect them
52%
52%
42%
31%
30%
30%
26%
26%
25%
24%
24%
If a secret mission is happening to address a
foreign threat
If it's to protect the UK's national security
To prevent panic in the UK
If our military is supporting another country on
their internal security issues
If the country is at war
If there is a threat of a terrorist attack
If there is a hostile government threatening our
country
If a terrorist attack has recently happened
If we are being threatened by another
democracy
If we are being threatened by a dictatorship
If the country is on the brink of war
Q5: In each of the following situations, how acceptable is it for the government or a government department to not
be completely honest with the public (i.e. to withhold information, or put out information that is not 100%
accurate)? [Top 4 Box, Acceptable] Base UK: General Population (n=1,000)
NATIONAL SECURITY AND SECRET
MISSIONS ARE THE MOST
ACCEPTABLE CONTEXTS FOR
DISHONESTY

4. CHANNEL HAS NO IMPACT ON THE ACCEPTABILITY OF
MISINFORMATION, BUT SPOKESPERSON CHOICE DOES
4
17%
17%
17%
16%
16%
16%
Official Twitter or Facebook
accounts
On the radio
Through the BBC
Through private broadcasters
(e.g. Sky, ITV, etc.)
Through newspapers
Fake Twitter or Facebook
accounts
18%
14%
14%
13%
12%
11%
A military official (e.g. a
General, an Officer, etc.)
A scientific expert speaking on
behalf of the government
The Prime Minister
A civil servant
A government minister
An MP
Q8: And how acceptable would it be for the military to share misleading or intentionally inaccurate information in each of the
following places? [Top 4 Box, Acceptable] Q6: How acceptable is it for each of the following types of individuals to not be
completely honest with the public (i.e. to withhold information, or put out information that is not 100% accurate)? [Top 4 Box,
Acceptable] Base UK: General Population (n=1,000)
Percent who feel it is acceptable for the military to share
misleading information on each of the following channels
Percent who feel it is acceptable for each of the following
spokespeople to not be completely honest

5. DECEIVING THE PUBLIC IMPACTS PEOPLE’S RELATIONSHIP
WITH THE GOVERNMENT & HAS WIDER SOCIETAL FALLOUT
5
Q9: What impact does the government concealing information or deceiving the public have? Base UK: General Population
(n=1,000)
74%
It decreases their trust
in the government
66%
It makes people
wonder what else the
government is hiding
from the public
38%
It makes society more
divided
36%
It makes people more
likely to take part in
protests or civil
disobedience

6. COMING CLEAN AND CONTEXTUALISING THE DECEPTION
CAN MAKE IT MORE ACCEPTABLE
6
Q10: And if the government was to come clean and tell the truth after deceiving the public about something related to the military or national security, what impact would that have on how
you feel about the deception? [Top 2 box, More acceptable] Q11: And if the government was to come clean and tell the truth after deceiving the public about something related to the
military or national security, what impact would that have on how much you trust the government? [Top 2 box, Trust more] Base UK: General Population (n=1,000)
Picture Credit: Richard Watt/MOD, OGL v1.0, 4 March 2016
55%
Say if the government comes
clean, it makes the deception
more acceptable
38%
Say if the government comes
clean, they would trust the
government more

7. 7
Q14: Deception (i.e. to withhold information or put out information that is not 100% accurate) can be used by the military to mitigate gaps in
terms of capabilities or numbers in conflict situations. Thinking about this, which of the following statements do you agree with more? Base
UK: General Population (n=1,000)
THE PUBLIC FAVOUR INCREASED MILITARY
SPENDING OVER DECEPTION
“I would prefer the military
got more funding and rarely
had to use deception tactics”
73%