A decline in trustIn today's polarized world, trust in news media is low and declining even further. Just over a fifth of audience members now get their news from actual news websites. News is everywhere and is published in many different quarters. It will be about who people trust and what they believe. Part of the reason for this decline in trust is due to more and more AI-generated fake news, as we are now in an era of "deep doubt."PR professionals will need to contend with a general decline in trust in the general public in traditional institutions, which may affect PR greatly in the future. Trust is declining in traditional institutions and is being replaced by peer influences. People can follow those they like and trust, regardless of the merits of their views.

Now that AI is easily accessible and distributed, people are unsure what or who to believe. This is exacerbated by the rise in deepfakes in AI, muddling what was already a fragile social media landscape.Malicious actors can quickly put companies or executives on the back foot by repurposing speech into a false premise, leading to false narratives, exposing them to reputational harm, and causing PR teams to scramble.For real-life examples, look no further than the fake robocall from Biden or the AI generated “endorsement" from Taylor Swift during the 2024 US Presidential Elections campaign season.