The New Social Divide: When Unifiers Lose Their Way.
Edelman 2025 shows NGOs losing unifying strength, leaving a cultural vacuum.
When the Moral Authority Fades
For decades, NGOs were seen as society’s neutral ground, the institutions that rose above politics to rally people around shared causes. That reputation is no longer secure. The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer finds that 53% of people globally (excluding China, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and the UAE) now believe NGOs “bring people together.”
A slim majority remains, but for organizations once regarded as unquestioned moral anchors, this reflects a sharp loss of cultural authority.
The Weight of Grievance
Edelman’s “crisis of grievance” reveals where this decline is most severe. Among respondents with a low sense of grievance, 53% still view NGOs as unifying. Among high-grievance groups, that number drops to 36%, a gap of roughly 17 points.
The finding cuts deep: NGOs were designed to amplify the voices of the disaffected. Today, the very people they aim to represent are least likely to see them as legitimate. Instead of functioning as bridges, NGOs are increasingly seen as extensions of the system fueling discontent.
The Cultural Void
This erosion creates more than an institutional problem; it opens a cultural vacuum. NGOs once embodied impartiality. Now, they are burdened with political associations that undercut their universality. Into this void step brands, not as replacements for civil society, but as actors with the capacity to create common ground through business decisions.
Transparent supply chains, serious climate targets, and fair labor practices are not statements of intent, they are tangible actions that resonate across divided audiences.
The Brand Test
The temptation for companies is to treat this as a communications opportunity. The risk is that audiences are already skeptical. Any hint of opportunism collapses trust. The opening exists, but the bar is unforgiving: only act where the business has credibility, and only speak when evidence is visible.
Brands that meet this standard will not just sell products, they will forge connections in a fractured society. Those that fail will deepen the same cynicism that weakened NGOs.
Bottom Line
The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer makes the stakes clear: NGOs still retain a slim majority perception as unifiers, but their credibility fractures sharply among those with the greatest grievances. In a polarized world, that creates a cultural void.
Brands that engage with proof and consistency have the chance to occupy the space NGOs are vacating, building trust as the only durable currency of relevance.
