Reliance on scientists and experts during an epidemic: Evidence from the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy.

ABSTRACT: Research suggests trust in experts and authorities are important correlates of compliance with public health measures during infectious disease outbreaks. Empirical evidence on the dynamics of reliance on scientists and public health authorities during the early phases of an epidemic outbreak is limited. We examine these processes during the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy by leveraging data from Twitter and two online surveys, including a survey experiment. We find that reliance on experts followed a curvilinear path. Both Twitter and survey data showed initial increases in information-seeking from expert sources in the three weeks after the detection of the first case. Consistent with these increases, knowledge about health information linked to COVID-19 and support for containment measures w

SUBMITTER: Battiston P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7859315 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature