If Research is Not the Evidence, What is it? Egyptian Physicians’ Explanations of the Lack of Research Citations in their Health Vlogs

Abstract

In this article, I explore the treatment of evidence in vlogs by Egyptian doctor-influencers: how they present it and what they use instead of it. I answer the following questions: 1) How do doctor-influencers present evidence on social media? 2) If evidence is not the research, then what is it? The data was collected through in-depth interviews with 12 Egyptian doctor-influencers from different specializations; two focus groups; and critical discourse analysis of 48 of the influencers’ most popular and most engaging videos.