Brand Trust: The Era of Algorithmic Enshittification? | Marketing, Surveillance Capitalism & Digital Advertising
From Ruined By The Internet? - Uncovering the human cost of our digital world by Gareth King
January 24, 2026 · 50 min
About this episode
The episode explores the decline of brand trust in the digital age with a focus on surveillance capitalism and the role of algorithms.
The internet was supposed to empower brands to build relationships based on authenticity and shared values. But has it instead become a surveillance capitalism machine - exploiting and manipulating our attention until we stopped trusting brands, marketing, and the platforms behind them entirely? We're joined by Nick Richtsmeier - growth consultant and founder of CultureCraft - who works directly with businesses and non-profits to solve the trust decay problem, and understands better than most what brands did wrong and whether there's any way back. Welcome to Ruined By The Internet? - the show where we examine how technology is shaping modern life - whether we want it to or not. Follow or subscribe to never miss the next investigation - new episodes regularly. Visit us: https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/ Help us investigate ourselves: https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/survey/ Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/rbtishow In this episode we investigate the mechanics of brand trust decay in the digital age, examine the concept of enshittification and how platforms turned authenticity into a performance, explore the shift toward community-based growth as a response to…
People in this episode
Host: Gareth King
Guest: Nick Richtsmeier
Topics covered
- brand trust
- surveillance capitalism
- algorithmic enshittification
- marketing authenticity
- community-based growth
- consumer perceptions
- societal change
Keywords
- brand trust
- surveillance capitalism
- algorithm
- marketing
- authenticity
- consumer perceptions
- trust decay
- community growth
- societal change
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: CultureCraft, Damn's Given, Buzzsprout, LinkedIn, Ruined By The Internet?
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