Data & Insights Infographic: How ‘Fake News’ and Bogus Content Are Changing the Way Consumers Look at Brands Marketers need to build trust, according to a new studyBy Emma Bazilian|May 8, 2017Consumers increasingly have a need for truth, which could be an opportunity for brands.Getty Images/iStock PhotoShare By Emma Bazilian|May 8, 2017Share During the 2016 election, the term “fake news” became an important part of the national discourse—and, in the process, helped increase the public’s awareness of a larger fake economy. “Consumers have been confronted by fake news, fake online reviews, fake phishing emails, fake applications that install malware, fake accounts on social media platforms—and the list goes on,” explained consumer psychologist Kenneth Faro, Ph.D., who worked with Origin/Hill Holliday on a new study that explores how the fake economy is affecting brands. “There’s one big learning here, and it’s the fact that we are seeing the emergence of a new consumer need—the need for truth.” Faro recommends that brands view this need as an opportunity, not a challenge. “Valuing ‘truth’ can be a differentiating brand platform and a point of view that brands can stand for and rally consumers around,” he said. Click for more from this issue This story first appeared in the May 8, 2017, issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe. Adweek Adweek