Tom Evans, PR and Marketing Manager:

• 2025: an age of misinformation and manipulation
• People trust people more than brands
• Preparation is essential

According to research from Ofcom, more than a third of UK adult internet users are unaware that online content might be false or biased. This is particularly concerning, especially given that we live in a world where each minute 500 hours of content is uploaded to YouTube, 175 websites are publicly published and 695,000 stories are shared on Instagram. It is difficult to imagine just how much of that content is credible, authentic and trustworthy… The statistics are even more shocking for 11-16 year olds; almost half of this age group believe all of the news they see on social media, regardless of the source.

On social media, in particular, the lines between fact and fiction are ever-blurring with the rise of AI and deepfake content. Since 2023, X (formally Twitter), has been utilising ‘community notes’ to manage misinformation rather than independent fact-checking – relying on users of the platform to flag misleading or incorrect content. More recently in January 2025, Meta also announced it was abandoning the use of independent fact-checkers on Facebook and Instagram, replacing them with X-style community notes. Mark Zuckerberg himself admitted the changes, designed to reduce the risk of censorship, would mean the platform was “going to catch less bad stuff“. 

However, it is unfair to place the sole focus on social media, and the misinformation spreaders or conspiracy theorists who push content out on these. Dragons’ Den star, Steven Bartlett, for example, was recently accused of amplifying dangerous health claims on his number-one ranked podcast, Diary of a CEO. Recent claims by guests – including that autism and other disorders can be “reversed” with dietary changes – were allowed by Bartlett with little or no challenge for commercial gain. Surely, in a position with a wide-reaching platform, people like Barlett, should be held accountable? For context, the Diary of a CEO podcast has over one billion streams across Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. It’s the most downloaded podcast in the UK on Apple, and the second largest podcast on YouTube globally.

In a world of misinformation and manipulation, authenticity has never been more important for brands. Consumers, across all industries, are favouring brands that display credibility and trust: 90 percent say that authenticity is important when deciding which brands to support, up from 86 percent in 2017. 

One way that brands can stay relevant to their audiences and appear credible is by using authentic and trustworthy brand ambassadors. When considering who may be a good fit to partner with, it is so important to make sure that they share the same values as the organisation. To illustrate, in 2012 Oprah Winfrey partnered with Microsoft, becoming a brand ambassador for the company’s new Surface tablet. She tweeted a number of things about the tablet including that it was ‘one of her favourite things’, but people quickly noticed that she was sharing these tweets via “Twitter for iPad.”… cue the tumbleweed…

When done in the right way, an effective brand ambassador can do more than increase authenticity and trust. With their following, they can also significantly expand a brand’s reach and visibility, bringing new consumers to a business. Perhaps more importantly, they also increase customer loyalty: 67 percent of consumers are more likely to stay loyal to and advocate for a brand themselves if they trust it. 

If brands are planning on using brand ambassadors, to ensure another layer of authenticity, it is important that they schedule time for a campaign briefing and preparation. This provides ambassadors with all of the necessary information and guidance needed to create content that aligns with your brand’s vision. The session should include campaign objectives, target audience demographics, content guidelines, visual references, and key messaging points.In conclusion, we live in an age where authenticity and trust are hard to come by, but knowing who to trust is even more challenging. People tend to resonate most with other people so brand ambassadors are useful tools for cutting through the noise. However, remember that one embarrassing mistake can be broadcast across the news or social media in seconds, as Microsoft and Oprah can vouch for, or worse, severely damage your consumer trust and loyalty. My message to businesses, therefore, is to ensure that your ambassadors are credible, briefed and aligned with your values.