Basically describing what happened with Lemmy. What started out as Reddit Minus Shitbag Mods became a screaming match between .world and .ml, while everyone on .hexbear retreated into exile.
You still won't have any real trust, because the accusations of "bot" and "shill" will follow anyone who violates a taboo. But you'll at least have a few people you recognize, who you can have well-defined opinions on.