Related papers: Broadcasters and Hidden Influentials in Online Pro…
Background: We study mechanisms underlying the collective emotional behavior of Bloggers by using the agent-based modeling and the parameters inferred from the related empirical data. Methodology/Principal Findings: A bipartite network of…
It is widely believed that information spread on social media is a percolation process, with parallels to phase transitions in theoretical physics. However, evidence for this hypothesis is limited, as phase transitions have not been…
Online information is increasingly linked to real-world instability, especially as automated accounts and LLM-based agents help spread and amplify news. In this work, we study how information spreads on networks of Large Language Models…
A UK-based online questionnaire investigating aspects of usage of user-generated media (UGM), such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, attracted 587 participants. Results show a high degree of engagement with social networking media such as…
Online attention is an increasingly valuable resource in the digital age, with extraordinary events such as the COVID-19 pandemic fuelling fierce competition around it. As misinformation pervades online platforms, users seek credible…
We study a stochastic model for the diffusion of competing opinions in a population composed of three types of agents: trend-followers, opposers, and indifferent individuals. The decision dynamics are driven by reinforcement mechanisms,…
Opinion dynamics is an important and very active area of research that delves into the complex processes through which individuals form and modify their opinions within a social context. The ability to comprehend and unravel the mechanisms…
While there has been much work examining the affects of social network structure on innovation adoption, models to date have lacked important features such as meta-populations reflecting real geography or influence from mass media forces.…
Social media has become extremely influential when it comes to policy making in modern societies, especially in the western world, where platforms such as Twitter allow users to follow politicians, thus making citizens more involved in…
Social media platforms have become key tools for coordinated influence operations, enabling state actors to manipulate public opinion through strategic, collective actions. While previous research has suggested collaboration between states,…
In recent years networks have gained unprecedented attention in studying a broad range of topics, among them in complex systems research. In particular, multi-agent systems have seen an increased recognition of the importance of the…
In this paper, we investigate the arising communication patterns on social media, and in particular the series of events happening for a single user. While the distribution of inter-event times is often assimilated to power-law density…
Understanding the heterogeneous role of individuals in large-scale information spreading is essential to manage online behavior as well as its potential offline consequences. To this end, most existing studies from diverse research domains…
Societies are complex systems which tend to polarize into sub-groups of individuals with dramatically opposite perspectives. This phenomenon is reflected -- and often amplified -- in online social networks where, however, humans are no more…
Protests and agitations are an integral part of every democratic civil society. In recent years, South Africa has seen a large increase in its protests. The objective of this paper is to provide an early prediction of the duration of…
The emergence of online social platforms, such as social networks and social media, has drastically affected the way people apprehend the information flows to which they are exposed. In such platforms, various information cascades spreading…
On-line social networks publish information on a high volume of real-world events almost instantly, becoming a primary source for breaking news. Some of these real-world events can end up having a very strong impact on on-line social…
The COVID-19 pandemic brought upon a massive wave of disinformation, exacerbating polarization in the increasingly divided landscape of online discourse. In this context, popular social media users play a major role, as they have the…
We study the connections between network structure, opinion dynamics, and an adversary's power to artificially induce disagreements. We approach these questions by extending models of opinion formation in the social sciences to represent…
A common assumption in the literature on information diffusion is that populations are homogeneous regarding individuals' information acquisition and propagation process: Individuals update their informed and actively communicating state…