How Tylenol's Trust Survived a National Controversy

Download our Most Trusted Brands 2026 report here for the definitive ranking of the brands that lead the way on consumer trust — spanning 184 brands across 30 rankings.

When a brand's core promise comes under public attack, does consumer trust collapse — or hold?

Tylenol offers one of the clearest real-world answers in years. In late 2025, the brand faced a high-profile challenge to its safety positioning, and the share of consumers seeing negative news about it spiked to five times the highest level Morning Consult had ever measured for the brand. Yet its net trust barely moved, and it remains the single most trusted medicine brand in America in 2026.

Here's what the data shows about why trust held — and what it means for every brand.

What happened to Tylenol's brand trust in 2026?

In fall 2025, President Trump used a White House press conference to link Tylenol to autism and urged pregnant women to avoid it — a direct assault on the brand's core safety positioning from one of the most prominent voices in the country.

The reputational pressure was real and measurable. In Morning Consult's previous Most Trusted Brands report, Tylenol ranked 4th overall. In the 2026 report — still in the direct aftermath of the controversy — it landed at 19th. On the surface, a slide of 15 spots looks like serious damage.

But the underlying trust numbers tell a very different story.

How much did the controversy actually hurt Tylenol's trust?

Very little. The two key figures:

• Negative buzz spiked roughly five-fold. The share of consumers who reported seeing negative news about Tylenol jumped to a level five times higher than Morning Consult had previously measured.
• Net trust barely budged. Tylenol's net trust score sits at 54.0 in 2026, down just 1.7 points year-over-year — a minor dip given the scale and prominence of the attack.

A flood of negative coverage produced only a marginal change in how much consumers trust the brand to do the right thing.

Why didn't Tylenol's trust collapse?

Because trust is durable — and slow to build or break. Morning Consult's data shows that achieving a high level of trust takes years, often decades, of repeated positive interactions. But once secured, that accumulated trust acts as a buffer, helping brands weather storms that would sink a younger or less-established name.

Tylenol had decades of built-up trust to draw on. When its safety positioning was challenged, that reservoir absorbed the shock. The brand's resilience isn't a sign that the controversy didn't register — negative buzz proves it did — but rather that deep trust gave consumers a reason to hold their ground.

Why does brand trust matter so much?

Trust is one of the most reliable signals of overall brand health. It correlates more closely with favorability and value than any of the other nine core metrics Morning Consult tracks, and it's one of the best available indicators of purchasing consideration.

Critically, trust doesn't move alone. Brands that earn it tend to be favored, valued, admired, and considered for purchase. Brands that lose it tend to lose those things in concert. That interconnection is exactly why a trust buffer is so valuable in a crisis: protecting trust helps protect everything trust is tied to.

Is Tylenol still the most trusted medicine brand?

Yes. Despite the controversy and the overall ranking slide, Tylenol remains the most trusted brand in the Medicine category in 2026 with a net trust score of 54.0. It also stays in the top 20 most trusted brands overall and scores even higher with women, at 57.1 net trust.

What can brands learn from the Tylenol case?

Three takeaways stand out:

1. Trust is an asset you build before you need it. Tylenol survived because the reservoir already existed. A crisis is not the moment to start building trust — it's the moment you find out whether you did.
2. Don't mistake a ranking drop for a trust collapse. Tylenol fell 15 spots while losing under two points of net trust. The headline rank can move far more dramatically than the underlying relationship with consumers.
3. Negative buzz and trust are not the same metric. A spike in negative attention doesn't automatically translate into lost trust — and tracking them separately tells you whether a crisis is cosmetic or structural.

Frequently asked questions

Did Tylenol lose consumer trust after the 2025 controversy?

Only marginally. Tylenol's net trust score fell just 1.7 points year-over-year to 54.0, even as negative news exposure spiked to five times its previously measured peak.

What was the Tylenol controversy?

In fall 2025, President Trump used a White House press conference to link Tylenol to autism and advised pregnant women to avoid it, directly challenging the brand's safety positioning.

Is Tylenol still a trusted brand?

Yes. In Morning Consult's Most Trusted Brands 2026 study, Tylenol remains the most trusted brand in the Medicine category and stays within the top 20 most trusted brands overall.

Why didn't Tylenol's trust fall further?

Brand trust is built over years or decades of repeated positive interactions, and that accumulated trust acts as a buffer during crises. Tylenol's long-established trust absorbed the shock of the controversy.

Why does brand trust matter during a crisis?

Trust correlates more closely with favorability, value, and purchasing consideration than any other core brand metric Morning Consult tracks, so preserving it during a crisis helps preserve the outcomes tied to it.