Where Do Americans Get Health Information, and What Do They Trust?
Health care providers are a key source for health information. Smaller shares get health information from social media and AI.
In an era with unprecedented access to health information, the vast majority of Americans still turn to health care providers for health information, according to a new Pew Research Center study. Many also look to major health websites such as WebMD.
But Americans’ health sources aren’t limited to medical experts. Many Americans (66%) also learn from others going through similar health experiences. And some get health information from social media (36%) or AI chatbots (22%) at least sometimes.
Within this landscape, Americans don’t always find it easy to determine what information is trustworthy. Half of Americans say it is at least somewhat difficult to judge if health information is accurate, and a similar share (54%) has a hard time knowing what to trust when they come across conflicting health information.
Related Knowledge Center: Polls and polling
Polls are considered essential to the businesses of politics and journalism. What they contribute to the quality of political journalism is subject to debate.
Related Knowledge Center: Information integrity
In an increasingly fractured media landscape, truth has been a casualty in the public discussion. Coverage has been warped by the business needs of struggling news organizations, and a significant segment of the public relies on bad-faith outlets that are little more than propagandists. While fact-checking has become routine, some organizations are exploring other ways to combat the trends. And misinformation spewed by AI-driven chatbots has become more of a feature than simply a bug.
Fact-checking and its detractors
Related Knowledge Center: Media literacy
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