Straits Times flamed for saying that Singaporeans’ trust in the Government and the media is up

In an article published on Monday (18 Mar) morning, the Straits Times reported that Singaporeans’ trust in the Government and the media is up.

Citing the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer survey –  a survey that studies public sentiment with regards to the Government, media, non-governmental organisations, and business in their respective countries – the national broadsheet reported that the “trust placed by Singaporeans in the Government and the media is higher than the levels seen in other developed countries.”

This year, the Edelman Trust Barometer showed that 67 per cent of Singaporeans trust the Government – two percentage points higher than the 65 per cent of Singaporeans who trusted the Government, last year.

While the percentage of trust for the Government in Singapore is higher than other developed countries, people in third world or newly industrialised countries like China, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and India have a higher percentage of trust in their Governments.

Only 58 per cent of people trust the media in Singapore but the Straits Times says that this percentage is higher than the levels in countries like the USA and Japan.

It is only in the last two paragraphs of the article that the national broadsheet reveals that there was “an 8 percentage point decline in trust in the Government among the informed public in Singapore, which is down from last year’s 76 per cent.”

The informed public refers to people who are more educated, earn more, and consume news more regularly.

The notable decline in the informed public’s trust in the Singapore Government stands in stark contrast with the 4 per cent hike in the trust the informed public worldwide have in other countries.

Despite this, the national broadsheet defends that “Still, trust in Singapore among the informed public is still higher than the global average: 68 versus 58 per cent.”

The majority of netizens responding to the Straits Times article on their own Facebook page criticised the publication for seemingly praising themselves and opined that the survey results are not necessarily indicative of the realities on the ground: