Maintaining Public Trust During a Crisis (2025 Update)

Trust is one of the most valuable assets any public agency has — and it’s also the easiest to lose. In a crisis, the spotlight is intense, the public is watching every word, and mistakes are amplified in real time.

Over the last year, we’ve seen how quickly trust can erode. From campus protests and election misinformation to major weather disasters, the common thread is the same: when people don’t believe official sources, they look elsewhere. And “elsewhere” often means rumors, speculation, or outright misinformation.