Alma’s programmatic team visited the WPP-organized NextM 2026 event in Stockholm in May. It is the Nordic region’s largest marketing and technology event, drawing advertisers, publishers, and technology vendors alike as guests.
At the event, trust emerged as a central theme, and the reason is clear: research data concretely demonstrates what the trustworthiness of a media environment means for advertising effectiveness.
Trust is distributed very unevenly across different platforms
In spring 2026, Schibsted published the extensive Trust Report study, in which 1 568 Swedes assessed their trust in different media environments. The results highlight the positive significance of editorial media as a media environment.
Editorial media enjoys 59 percent trust. Social media? Only 10 percent. AI tools 22 percent, search engines 46 percent. Public service reaches the highest figure, 70 percent.
The same hierarchy repeats in advertising. Trust in ads is 35 percent in editorial media, 23 percent in search engines, and only 9 percent on social media. Trust in the media environment carries directly over to advertising, meaning the media context is not neutral.
The media environment itself erodes trust in advertising. According to the study, Facebook is by far the largest source of misleading or false information; 62 % of respondents have encountered misinformation on Facebook. Other social media platforms also receive high response figures.
Scam ads eat away at trust, and they accumulate on social media
Schibsted’s study highlights a phenomenon that should alarm every advertiser: 66 percent of Swedes have, within the past year, come across a false, misleading, or potentially fraudulent ad.
Scam ads accumulate heavily on the big platforms: a staggering 67 % of respondents say they have seen scam ads on Facebook, and the corresponding figure on Instagram is 46 %. The phenomenon can be summed up like this: algorithm-based distribution and user-generated content create an environment in which scam advertising spreads efficiently. It is noteworthy that editorial media does not appear among the TOP 5 responses at all.
Scam advertising makes the majority distrust all advertising in that media environment
According to the study, 56 percent of users become more skeptical of all advertising after encountering a misleading ad. 55 percent trust less in the platform’s ability to monitor advertising. 52 percent lose trust in the entire platform or medium. 40 percent feel less safe when using the platform. Four out of ten avoid clicking on ads altogether after such an experience.
So a poor environment doesn’t just weaken the effectiveness of an individual campaign, it makes advertising more challenging across the entire ecosystem.
Trust is becoming a business issue
In Sweden, the phenomenon has already led to concrete action: in spring 2026, IAB Sverige decided to remove Meta from its membership. Behind the decision was a Reuters report that verified the platform’s massive scam-advertising problem. IAB Sverige stated that Meta had been unable to demonstrate adequate measures to fix the situation.
Within the industry, trust has turned into a business issue. At the NextM event, Schibsted’s Cristina Roca Shouri captured it aptly: “Trust is connected to ad effectiveness. It means that media is not neutral. We need to act on that – us as an industry. If you only maximize reach in a low-trust environment, you get resistance to advertising.”
Media planner: optimize towards trust and attention
Media planning has long optimized for reach and price. Now the data forces us to add a new variable alongside them: trust.
A high-trust environment gives the message fertile ground. A low-trust environment means the audience is already on its guard and advertising has a stone wall to climb over. At the NextM event, a perspective came up that resonated strongly: the combination of attention and trust is what advertisers should be tracking.
The Nordics have the highest trust in news media in Europe, and that’s no coincidence
Editorial media offers something that the algorithm-based distribution of social platforms cannot: trust that has been built over decades.
In Finland, trust in editorial media is highlighted by the Reuters Digital News Report 2025, which shows that Finns have the highest trust in news media in Europe. The other Nordic countries also rank high in the responses. Nordic audiences value editorial responsibility, and this shows in how both content and advertising are received.
The high trust in news media across the Nordics shown by the Reuters data is no coincidence. It is the result of editorial responsibility, transparency, and tighter control of the advertising environment. In this environment, an advertiser’s message is received differently than amid algorithm-fed, user-generated content.
The media environment is a strategic choice and one of the most decisive factors in achieving a successful business impact from advertising.
Sources: Schibsted Trust Report 2026 (Norstat, n=1 568, Sweden, March 2026); Reuters Digital News Report 2025; NextM 2026 event, Stockholm
