English

Misinformation Dynamics in Social Networks

Physics and Society 2025-11-25 v1 Information Theory Theoretical Economics High Energy Physics - Theory math.IT

Abstract

Information transmitted across modern communication platforms is degraded not only by intentional manipulation (disinformation) but also by intrinsic cognitive decay and topology-dependent social averaging (misinformation). We develop a continuous-fidelity field theory on multiplex networks with distinct layers representing private chats, group interactions, and broadcast channels. Our analytic solutions reveal three universal mechanisms controlling information quality: (i) groupthink blending, where dense group coupling drives fidelity to the initial group mean; (ii) bridge-node bottlenecks, where cross-community flow produces irreversible dilution; and (iii) a network-wide fidelity landscape set by a competition between broadcast truth-injection and structural degradation pathways. These results demonstrate that connectivity can reduce information integrity and establish quantitative control strategies to enhance fidelity in large-scale communication systems.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2511.18733,
  title  = {Misinformation Dynamics in Social Networks},
  author = {Jeff Murugan},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.18733},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

5 pages, 4 figures, several puns

R2 v1 2026-07-01T07:51:29.266Z