As You Might Guess, Influencer Trust Varies by Generation

A new survey conducted by Morning Consult suggests relatively widespread mistrust of “influencers” who often refer to themselves as “content creators,”  even if there are some expected generational differences. 

But then, what would you expect for a craft that features monetization based on the success of marketing purposes? 

source: Business Insider

The influencer trust gap is generational, as you might suspect: 

• Gen Z and Millennials trust creator recommendations (62%, 64%)

• buy from them regularly (48%, 52% often/sometimes)

• get their news from them (64%, 61%)

• say creator content has shaped their societal and political views. 

Much-greater skepticism exists among Baby Boomers, of whom:

• only 31% trust recommendations

• 43% never bought based on one

• are the only generation that is net-negative on creators' societal impact (31% negative vs. 17% positive).

To be sure, we might agree that some ethical standards exist for a variety of content-creation endeavors, even when not honored universally. At least in principle, we have wanted journalists to be fair; commentators to have points of view but avoid bias or dishonesty; advertisers to be be truthful or at least not deceptive; marketers to be honest; content creators to be accurate about non-fiction material; influencers credible. 

Profession	Primary purpose	Principal ethical obligation	Independence and conflicts	Relationship with audience
Journalists	Inform the public	Accuracy, verification, fairness, minimizing harm	Must resist pressure from owners, advertisers, political interests and sources	Audience is entitled to expect independent reporting
Commentators	Interpret events and express opinions	Intellectual honesty, factual accuracy, distinguishing evidence from opinion	Should disclose financial, political or institutional interests that could affect their views	Audience should understand the commentator's perspective and possible biases
Advertisers	Promote products, services or causes	Truthful claims, substantiation, avoidance of deceptive or unfair practices	Must disclose sponsorship and avoid misleading representations	Audience is a prospective customer or decision-maker
Marketers	Create demand and influence purchasing decisions	Honest representation, responsible targeting, respect for consumer autonomy and privacy	Must identify material commercial interests and avoid conflicts in recommendations	Audience is a market segment whose needs and behavior are being influenced
Content creators	Produce and distribute information, entertainment or educational material	Originality, attribution, accuracy where factual claims are made, and responsible treatment of subjects	Should disclose sponsorship, conflicts and significant limitations on expertise	Audience may regard the creator as an entertainer, educator, expert or trusted source
Influencers	Shape opinions and behavior through personal credibility and reach	Authenticity, truthful endorsements, clear commercial disclosures	Must disclose payments, gifts, affiliate commissions and other material relationships	Audience often relies on perceived personal experience and trust

In large part, the change in media from physical to virtual has made older issues more difficult. Historically, newspapers and broadcasters generally maintained some separation between their editorial and advertising departments. G

Digital media has weakened that separation. Native advertising, sponsored content, affiliate marketing and influencer endorsements can make commercial persuasion look like independent information.

Monetization issues also make digital content more focused on the ability to attract attention, which arguably diminishes incentives for prudence, honesty, truthfulness or transparency. 

The economic incentives of attention-based media can systematically favor content that is emotionally provocative, divisive, sensational or controversial, as most of us would tend to agree is the case. 

As perhaps always is the case, such ethical guidelines will be honored incompletely, sometimes not at all. Hence the skepticism about the trustworthiness of content whose business model requires sponsorship, advertising or other forms of payment.

That is not to disparage ad support models. As a marketing professor of mine once insisted, "advertising is what makes the free press possible."

But the need for critical thinking remains. People still have to analyze and evaluate claims and information, rather than accepting all or most claims at face value.