In today's world, the meaning of the word “expert” has lost much of its weight.
The word "expert" is a title to me, and I even trust less when the title is a self-proclaimed title.
I wouldn't blame others who feel the same way about trusting people who are called experts; if you get to find out from most of them, they have all had personal experiences, some even trusting these experts so much at one time until they became disappointed.
Trust is an expensive commodity; it has to now be earned, and if you claim to be an expert, or you are called an expert, you have to show results for people to trust you, not people trusting you before you show results.
You are absolutely right that trust is VERY difficult to earn, but very easy to lose.
And in fact, this has become a reason for manipulation, which is most offensive - primitive manipulation.
The scheme is extremely simple! Someone is chosen to promote the desired narratives through the “opinion of a leader/expert.” In addition to presenting them as an expert, they will also add a couple of high-profile or relevant titles, educational institutions, or even fake achievements.
...and if anyone dares to question their competence, another group immediately jumps in with something like, “How dare you question the opinion of THE WORLD-RENOWNED EXPERT!?” And anyone who tries to tell the truth looks very unpresentable.
And the so-called expert, whom they are trying to promote in all media and channels, continues to calmly promote the necessary narratives to the masses.
That's how the modern world works!