Praytell Agency Launches 'The Personality Era' Report: Global Study Reveals Parasocial Intimacy is the Ultimate Unit of Trust

Praytell's Annual Report Highlights How Influence Has Been Democratized from Institutions to Individuals, While AI Polarizes Audiences Across the Globe

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - June 2, 2026) - Praytell, the creative communications agency that builds award-winning PR, social, creative, and influencer campaigns for brands including Burger King, Stanley 1913, Therabody, Destination Canada, and more, today announced the release of its annual whitepaper Centers of Influence: The Personality Era. The report uncovers the forces reshaping the landscape—specifically how evolving algorithms, artificial intelligence, and the emergence of infinite sources of information have fundamentally shifted modern influence. Conducted in partnership with independent research firm YouGov, the research surveyed 3,600 weekly media users across the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.

Praytell's 2025 first edition of Centers of Influence, titled The Remix Era, highlighted how emerging media filled the trust gap left by traditional institutions; this year's research goes deeper into the psychology behind influence itself — who people trust, how parasocial relationships shape credibility, and the impact of AI on it all.

The 2026 report uncovers how the media landscape fragments, AI content saturates our feeds and information unfurls infinitely. Authentic human personalities—with all their unpolished edges and inconsistencies—have emerged as the most powerful unit of trust.

Key findings from the global report include:

• Vibes Beat Facts: Across all three markets, parasocial interaction scores are positively correlated with content credibility. That is: the more personally connected a respondent feels to a media personality, the more credible they rate that person and content, regardless of credentials, training, or institutional affiliation. A spokesperson, executive, employee, or creator who has built a parasocial relationship with an audience does not just carry a message, they carry the trust required to make that message land.
• Independent Creators Rival Journalists: Creators and traditional journalists are now nearly identical in their ability to drive opinion change, significantly outpacing personal, real-life contacts. The research found that traditional journalists drove opinion change for 31% of US respondents, 29% of UK respondents, and 35% of Australian respondents. Independent creators were nearly identical at 30%, 33% and 28%, respectively. Personal contacts, by contrast, accounted for just 4-6% across markets.
• Public Pushback on AI: Undisclosed AI usage causes a sharp loss in trust among the public when it comes to content they consume, according to 70% of US, 82% of UK, and 69% of Australian respondents. However, pledging to avoid AI in content actually provides brands with a measurable trust boost.

"Staying at the forefront of media evolution isn't just about spotting and reacting to surface-level trends, it's about the deeper structural forces that drive human behavior," said Beth Cleveland, Praytell CEO. "We invest in our Centers of Influence research because this data is the engine behind our work. These insights directly inform our comms strategies and creative campaigns, ensuring our clients are actively leading through authentic connection."

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