Celebrity disclosures and information seeking: The case of Angelina Jolie

PURPOSE: On May 14, 2013, actress Angelina Jolie disclosed that she had a BRCA1 mutation and underwent a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy. This study documents the impact of her disclosure on information-seeking behavior, specifically regarding online genetics and risk reduction resources available from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). METHODS: Using Adobe Analytics, daily page views for 11 resources were tracked from April 23, 2013 through June 25, 2013. Usage data were also obtained for four resources over a 2-year period (2012–2013). Source of referral by which viewers located a specific resource was also examined. RESULTS: There was a dramatic and immediate increase in traffic to NCI’s online resources. The Preventive Mastectomy fact sheet received 69,225 page views on May 14, representing a 795-fold increase compared with the previous Tuesday. A fivefold increase in page views was observed for the PDQ(®) Genetics of Breast and Ovarian Cancer summary in the same timeframe. A substantial increase from 0% to 49% was seen in referrals from news outlets to four resources from May 7 to May 14. CONCLUSION: Celebrity disclosures can dramatically influence online information-seeking behaviors. Efforts to capitalize on these disclosures to ensure easy access to accurate information are warranted.