This article was somewhat encouraging to me (or at least… not further discouraging). It’s open access (edit: oops, no, see bottom of the post for a link) and is a commentary by experts from two organizations: the Edelman Trust Institute think tank and the Global Listening Project non-profit organization.
They present extensive data in support of their claim that “erosion in trust” is not really the problem today, and instead:
Our work suggests that the crux of science’s current challenge is not lost trust, but rather misplaced trust in untrustworthy sources. High trust levels can be dangerous when they are invested in institutions and individuals that are misinformed or not well-intentioned. In this regard, it is especially problematic when societal institutions become politicized and advocate policies and behaviours that are at odds with scientific consensus.
That seems a subtle difference to me, like saying “my problem isn’t that people dislike my cooking, but that they like everyone else’s cooking more.” But I agree the difference is real. They then provide evidence that science/scientists are increasingly viewed as “politicized,” and it sure sounds to me like this erodes trust, but they argue somewhat differently:
By contrast, our research revealed concern over the sanctity and independence of science, especially for certain topics, such as COVID-19 and climate change. More than half of Trust Barometer respondents (53%) said that science had become politicized in their country, and 59% said that governments and other large funding organizations have too much influence on how science is done. One by-product of these perceptions has been an increase in aggression towards scientists.
They include suggestions about what to do. Some of their ideas (which are mostly obvious IMO) overlap with the values and mission of Peaceful Science.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01068-1
*Edit: I was wrong; you can read much of the piece without a subscription but then it’s cut off. I put a PDF here.