With misinformation, a lack of factchecking and some significant tech giant egos, trust has never been more important, according to a politics panel at LEAD today
Opening the advertising industry summit, Sir Chris Bryant said he was told “never to use the word trust” through fear of people then questioning it. However, as he rightly said, “advertising is fundamentally about trust”.
The minister for creative industries, arts and tourism spoke of the importance of trust, “otherwise it undermines the whole industry”.
Continuing this theme, journalist and commentator Alison Phillips described a “difficult time for the business of journalism” with the rise of misinformation, algorithms serving up fake news and a serious lack of factchecking, and at the same time a lack of funding in trusted, quality news.
Against this backdrop, Camilla Tominey, associate editor at The Telegraph, said: “Championing freedom of speech doesn’t mean you can say anything you like,” explaining how “trusted news sources check their facts and are subject to regulation and law.”
Citing the Southport killings as an example, Tominey said it was a “free for all” and people used “social media freedoms as a stick to beat news media” as if they should be revealing more, but of course it was important not to disclose information that would later be needed in court.
“We weren’t taking a lofty position,” she said. “We are bound by the law and press regulation, otherwise it’s a free for all and the trust is lost.”
Kevin Schofield, political editor at HuffPost, echoed this view: “If trust in journalism goes, we’re in a complete world of pain, where we’re lumped in with social media, which is just opinion dressed up as fact, full of misinformation and conspiracy theories.”
The politics panel, which also featured The Times’ politics correspondent Lara Spirit, showed off the best of quality journalism doing what they do best – discussing the day’s news with a unique insight and humour.
Is Trump utter madness or a master stroke? There’s no denying that he’s good for the news industry, was their view, with Schofield saying, “from a news perspective, Trump being in the White House is box office”.
Back on UK soil, Tominey talked about Labour winning a “loveless landslide”, while Spirit described a “growing sense of nervousness” in Number 10 about Nigel Farage and Reform. For Schofield, “it all hinges on significant growth for Labour”, otherwise the panel agreed they’re in all sorts of problems.
The quick-fire session, to a packed room of advertisers and agencies in Westminster, ended on a positive, with Tominey praising the plurality of voices in UK media: “It’s good to have different voices; let’s have debate that matters. We need to listen to people and not marginalise viewpoints. The news media in the UK is amazing – it gives every different opinion from every different angle.” As we know, it’s this that is good for readers, society and advertisers alike.
Trust “essential” in a “post-post-truth world”
Later on, a session of senior figures discussed practical ways in which the advertising industry can improve trust with consumers. Panel chair, IPA director general Paul Bainsfair, underlined its importance: “Trust isn’t a side issue… it’s essential to what we do.”
UK group chief executive at Ogilvy James Murphy suggested society has entered a “post-post-truth world”, meaning advertisers have a bigger duty than ever to ensure commercial content is high-quality. He also stressed that advertising is “hugely affected by [its] context”, adding: “If trusted sources become less trusted, our messages become less trusted.”
Channel 4 chief commercial officer Rak Patel agreed, stressing the importance of regulation and governance when it comes to maintaining high-quality content. He also emphasised audiences’ need to be able to trust content, which will in turn help advertisers become more trusted. “If you don’t have this foundational construct, where will it end?”
