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Sorry, Tom Hanks and Oprah: Americans think Amazon and Google are much more trustworthy

USPS, Amazon, Google, PayPal, The Weather Channel, and Chick-fil-A, are among the most trusted brands in America.

Sorry, Tom Hanks and Oprah: Americans think Amazon and Google are much more trustworthy

[Photo: Dick Thomas Johnson/Wikimedia Commons (Hanks); Jason Koerner/Getty Images (Winfrey)]

BY Arianne Cohen1 minute read

This just in: Tom Hanks and Oprah have been trounced in a large-scale survey of trustworthiness by . . . Amazon and Google. Yes, Americans think giant tech companies are much more likely to “do the right thing” than the man who was just nominated for an Oscar for playing Mr. Rogers.

The nationwide survey, released this morning by Morning Consult, found that the most trusted brands in America are: USPS, Amazon, Google, PayPal, The Weather Channel, Chick-fil-A, Hershey, UPS, Cheerios, and M&Ms. It is, however, a contest of mediocrity, as no brands were found to be particularly trustworthy, with these 10 brands garnering stamps of approval from just 34-42% of Americans.

Gen Zers are entirely not drinking the Kool-Aid. The survey found them to be distrustful of all things capitalist: corporate America, brands, and companies. They are also conscious of corporate behavior and likely to not purchase from a reliable company that they feel is run unethically. This is a stark contrast from the nearly two-thirds of baby boomers who trust most companies as their default position; half support reliable companies regardless of ethics.

In summary, we are a nation of skeptical capitalists. Just 15% of Americans believe that religious leaders will do the right thing, and just 5% trust Wall Street. Hollywood was the least trusted of institutions at 4%.

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As for Tom Hanks and Oprah? They scored 34% and 24%, respectively, compared to Amazon’s 39% and Google’s 38%. Check out the full rankings and download the report from Morning Consult.

[Image: Morning Consult]

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Arianne Cohen is a journalist who has appeared frequently in Fast Company, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Guardian, The New York Times, and Vogue. More


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