Survey of 1,200 US adults: 66% view Facebook favorably, down from 71% in 2020, compared to 79% for Apple (down 2%), 87% for Amazon (down 4%), and 90% for Google
The VergeElizabeth Lopatto
Context & Ripple Effects
This survey extends a measurable decline The Verge has been tracking for years. A 2018 Harris poll already had only 22% of Americans trusting Facebook with personal information, and a 2020 Verge survey found 72% saying Facebook holds too much power — so today's drop from 71% to 66% favorable reads as the continuation of an arc rather than a sudden reversal.
What makes this data point sharper is the comparison set: Google sits at 90% favorable and Amazon at 87% despite its own four-point dip, meaning Facebook's gap against big-tech peers has widened even as overall goodwill toward the sector erodes slowly. The later distrust survey showing 72% of internet users distrusting Facebook — alongside its owned properties Instagram and WhatsApp each above 50% — suggests the deficit persists across methodologies.
First-order effects
Facebook enters any public-facing moment — product launches, policy fights, congressional appearances — carrying a favorability rating 24 points below Google's among the same surveyed population, while its closest peers lost only 2-4 points over the same period.
The 2020 baseline in this survey gives Facebook's communications and policy teams a concrete number to defend against: the five-point year-over-year slide, not just the absolute level, is now the story competitors can point to.
Second-order effects
Advertisers and platform partners weighing reputational adjacency have a quantified spread between Facebook and Google/Amazon to cite when negotiating placements or partnerships on the weaker brand.
Because the distrust extends to Facebook-owned apps — Instagram and WhatsApp both polled above 50% distrust in the related December survey — portfolio-level branding decisions (cross-app identity, shared accounts) carry more sentiment risk than equivalent moves at Apple or Amazon.
Third-order effects
If the pattern holds — Facebook uniquely low while peers drift down only slightly — public sentiment becomes a durable asymmetry regulators and lawmakers can invoke, echoing the 2020 finding that majorities already saw Facebook as too powerful; sustained sentiment gaps historically precede scrutiny concentrated on one firm rather than the sector.
The divergence also pressures the industry structure around trust measurement itself: repeated multi-year polling across firms turns favorability into a standing competitive metric, giving brands like Google and Amazon an intangible moat that compounds through hiring, partnership, and regulatory goodwill.
The trend: Public favorability toward big tech is eroding gradually across the board but collapsing asymmetrically at Facebook, turning consumer sentiment into a company-specific liability rather than a sector-wide one.
I always think of this question as the “Is Twitter real life” question. But look at how badly Facebook is doing out there in reality https://t.co/ipl0U725h7 https://t.co/a5HzRIPNtv
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