"She seems more human" : understanding Twitter users' credibility assessments of dementia-related information

Alhayan, Fatimah and Pennington, Diane and Ruthven, Ian (2022) "She seems more human" : understanding Twitter users' credibility assessments of dementia-related information. In: iConference 2022, 2022-02-28 - 2022-03-04, Virtual/Online.

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Abstract

The presence of incorrect, medically uncorroborated information on social media may be harmful if people believe it. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify how Twitter users evaluate the credibility of dementia-related information sources. It used a think-aloud protocol via semi-structured interviews with 13 caregivers. It identified main credibility dimensions, including 13 factors. Participants deployed a combination of heuristics to assess information sources, and engaged in intensive systematic content review based on prior knowledge and relevance. The findings con-tribute to a nuanced understanding of how users evaluate Twitter sources in the health domain. Some of these are discussed in light of the MAIN Model, and prove significant in how practitioners and developers can better under-stand and help users evaluate information.

ORCID iDs

Alhayan, Fatimah, Pennington, Diane ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1275-7054 and Ruthven, Ian ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6669-5376;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)