credibility gap

noun
1.
a lack of popular confidence in the truth of the claims or public statements made by the federal government, large corporations, politicians, etc.: a credibility gap between the public and the power company.
2.
a perceived discrepancy between statements and actual performance or behavior.
Origin:
1965–70, Americanism

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
credibility gap
 
—n
a disparity between claims or statements made and the evident facts of the situation or circumstances to which they relate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Credibility gap is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

credibility gap

Distrust of a public statement or position, as in The current credibility gap at City Hall is the result of miscommunication between the mayor's office and the press. This term originated about 1960 in connection with the American public's disinclination to believe government statements about the Vietnam War. It soon was extended to individuals and corporations as well as government agencies to express a lack of confidence in the truth of their statements, or perception of a discrepancy between words and actions.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Failing to address these issues could, they argued, create a credibility gap in
  the plan as a whole.
The famous credibility gap, which has been with us for six long years, has
  suddenly opened up into an abyss.
The slightest deviation from the absolute certainty causes a credibility gap
  that is impossible to bridge for many years.
As a scientist, this credibility gap negatively taints our work to the
  population of non science adept readership.
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