A Tale of Two Countries: Perspectives on Credibility & Digital Health Information Sources in Italy and the U.S.

In recent years, the Internet has become a popular source of information, thanks to the rise of interactive User-generated content and social networking sites. Therefore, people are increasingly looking for health-related information online. The widespread use of interactive and quickly refreshed content has not only helped create, but as well has increased, the potential target audience for Internet-based health-related information; however, source quality and credibility often vary. Some research exists about the online behaviors of those searching for health-related information more generally; but rarely have digital health information sources be discussed in a cross-cultural context. This presentation aims to explore research on digital health information sources from two countries – Italy and the United States – both focusing on the connection between health and credibility in the digital information age. In the Italian context, the researcher will focus on “Wikipedians’ work” and how do they usually build their credibility in particular when they write about health-related issues. This research will draw from numerous studies conducted evaluating information provided via the Italian and English versions of the Wikipedia website, which has often been ranked among the top search results for topics on Google. Similarly, in the American context, the researcher will discuss how communicating about health can help build credibility - but will focus on the advent, and rise in prominence of, the “online influencer”. This part of the presentation will draw from research conducted with over 400 influencers, which elucidated how influencers have become important sources of health information for their readers. Implications for social health movements – both positive (such as the democratization of health information) and negative (such as the proliferation of misinformation online) – from both the studies will be discussed.