Dr Who? Examining the Impact of Visibility in Media, Gender, and an Academic Title on Scientists’ Perceived Trustworthiness Online

The COVID-19 pandemic saw an increased visibility of scientists in both traditional and socialmedia. However, the perceived epistemic trustworthiness of scientists depends strongly on howthey communicate their expertise, especially when considering their visibility and gender. In thepresent online study (N = 306) with a 2 (academic title: yes/no) x 2 (visibility: real/fictitiousscientist) x 2 (gender: female/male) mixed-subjects design, participants rated senders withacademic titles as having higher perceived expertise when discussing COVID-19. Notably, nodifferences emerged regarding integrity and benevolence ratings, suggesting that scientistsshould highlight these factors in their public communication. This effect of academic titles wasparticularly pronounced for unfamiliar senders. Furthermore, while women generally receivedhigher expertise ratings, this difference disappeared when an academic title was displayed in theuser handle. Thus, the present study emphasises the need for scientists to bridge the gap betweenvisibility and epistemic trustworthiness in the public sphere.