From the Brexit campaign, to Tommy Robinson’s conviction and the Grenfell inquiry, it seems many people don’t know who to trust – and conspiracy theories are flourishing.

A July report by the Pew Research Centre shows that people with views that differ from the mainstream, on the left and the right, have less trust in traditional institutions such as the government, financial institutions and the media than they did last year. The 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer also reports that, across the globe, the downward trend of trust in institutions has continued to fall, with its steepest ever decline in the US this year. There’s been a downturn in trust in the UK too and the country where trust in institutions is weakest is Russia. According to Edelman the media is now the least-trusted institution.

Environment secretary Michael Gove’s dismissal of experts on Brexit raised a few eyebrows but clearly resonated with a section of the public. And a widespread lack of trust in authority has been evident over issues as disparate as the Grenfell inquiry to Tommy Robinson’s imprisonment.

The Guardian wants to hear reader’s views about trust in authorities. Do you have faith that the government will do the right thing, and that those tasked with holding them to account will do so? Why, or why not? How has your confidence in different public institutions changed overtime? Was there a turning point? And are there certain voices that you trust more now? What do you feel is currently being lost in public debate? Do you feel you have a voice in it?

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