The spreading of misinformation online

Vicario, Michela Del; Bessi, Alessandro; Zollo, Fabiana; Petroni, Filippo; Scala, Antonio; Caldarelli, Guido; Stanley, H. Eugene; Quattrociocchi, Walter

doi:10.1073/pnas.1517441113

Cited by 1,691 publications

(1,120 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Unfortunately, they can also be used effectively to spread misinformation, myths, or conspiracy theories [738]. In the realm of public health this phenomenon has been extremely clear.…”

Section: Social Media Based Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Statistical physics of vaccination

et al. 2016

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Historically, infectious diseases caused considerable damage to human societies, and they continue to do so today. To help reduce their impact, mathematical models of disease transmission have been studied to help understand disease dynamics and inform prevention strategies. Vaccination-one of the most important preventive measures of modern times-is of great interest both theoretically and empirically. And in contrast to traditional approaches, recent research increasingly explores the pivotal implications of individual behavior and heterogeneous contact patterns in populations. Our report reviews the developmental arc of theoretical epidemiology with emphasis on vaccination, as it led from classical models assuming homogeneously mixing (mean-field) populations and ignoring human behavior, to recent models that account for behavioral feedback and/or population spatial/social structure. Many of the methods used originated in statistical physics, such as lattice and network models, and their associated analytical frameworks. Similarly, the feedback loop between vaccinating behavior and disease propagation forms a coupled nonlinear system with analogs in physics. We also review the new paradigm of digital epidemiology, wherein sources of digital data such as online social media are mined for high-resolution information on epidemiologically relevant individual behavior. Armed with the tools and concepts of statistical physics, and further assisted by new sources of digital data, models that capture nonlinear interactions between behavior and disease dynamics offer a novel way of modeling real-world phenomena, and can help improve health outcomes. We conclude the review by discussing open problems in the field and promising directions for future research.

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“…Unfortunately, they can also be used effectively to spread misinformation, myths, or conspiracy theories [738]. In the realm of public health this phenomenon has been extremely clear.…”

Section: Social Media Based Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Statistical physics of vaccination

et al. 2016

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“…Recent works (7) provide empirical evidence of the pivotal role of confirmation bias and selective exposure in online social dynamics. Users, indeed, tend to focus on specific narratives and join polarized groups (i.e., echo chambers) (8)(9)(10), where they end up reinforcing their worldview [even if pieces of content are deliberately false (11,12)] and dismissing contradictory information (13). Discussion and elaboration of narratives in such a segregated environment elicits group polarization and negatively influences user emotion (14-17).…”

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confidence: 99%

Anatomy of news consumption on Facebook

Schmidt

Zollo

Vicario

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The advent of social media and microblogging platforms has radically changed the way we consume information and form opinions. In this paper, we explore the anatomy of the information space on Facebook by characterizing on a global scale the news consumption patterns of 376 million users over a time span of 6 y (January 2010 to December 2015). We find that users tend to focus on a limited set of pages, producing a sharp community structure among news outlets. We also find that the preferences of users and news providers differ. By tracking how Facebook pages "like" each other and examining their geolocation, we find that news providers are more geographically confined than users. We devise a simple model of selective exposure that reproduces the observed connectivity patterns.computational social science | Facebook | news consumption | misinformation A large body of research has addressed news consumption on online social media and its polarizing effect on public opinion (1-5). Social media and microblogging platforms have changed the way we access information and form opinions. Communication has become increasingly personalized, both in the way messages are framed and how they are shared across social networks. Furthermore, according to a recent study (6), ∼63% of users acquire their news from social media, and these news are subject to the same popularity dynamics as other forms of content. Recent works (7) provide empirical evidence of the pivotal role of confirmation bias and selective exposure in online social dynamics. Users, indeed, tend to focus on specific narratives and join polarized groups (i.e., echo chambers) (8-10), where they end up reinforcing their worldview [even if pieces of content are deliberately false (11, 12)] and dismissing contradictory information (13). Discussion and elaboration of narratives in such a segregated environment elicits group polarization and negatively influences user emotion (14-17). Therefore, in this paper, to better understand how echo chambers emerge, we explore the anatomy of news consumption on Facebook. We focus on how Facebook posts from news outlets are consumed and how user activity causes connectivity patterns to emerge. We analyze the interaction of 376 million users with all of the anglophone news outlets on Facebook listed in the European Media Monitor (18) over a 6-y time span, from January 2010 to December 2015. Using quantitative analysis, we find evidence that selective exposure plays a pivotal role in shaping news consumption online. Users tend to focus on a very limited set of pages and thus create a distinct community structure within these news outlets. We also find that the perspectives of the news outlets and the users differ. Our findings suggest that users have a more cosmopolitan perspective of the information space than news providers. Examining how pages "like" each other and taking into account their geolocation, we find geographically confined connectivity patterns. We conclude by devising a simple model of selective exposure that reprodu...

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“…The spread of misinformation on social media is increasingly problematic (Del Vicario et al, 2016). For example, during an unprecedented bout of civil unrest in London (UK) in August 2011, rumours began to circulate on Twitter suggesting that a tiger was on the loose in the district of Primrose Hill after rioters had liberated it from London Zoo, the army had been deployed in the district of Bank, and the London Eye was on fire (Procter, Vis, & Voss, 2011).…”

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confidence: 99%

Persistence and plasticity in the human memory system: An empirical investigation of the overwriting hypothesis

Hardwicke¹

2017

Preprint

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The human memory system must resolve a critical tension, ensuring that knowledge endures over time (persistence), whilst simultaneously retaining a capacity for updating when knowledge is outdated or erroneous (plasticity). In this thesis, I examine the provocative idea that memory traces can be overwritten with new information, especially during transient periods of retrieval-induced plasticity that occur when a trace undergoes reconsolidation. A systematic review of human reconsolidation studies finds that the evidentiary support for this claim is remarkably tenuous. Furthermore, the theory fails to survive several strong empirical tests. In Experiments 1-7, I do not replicate a previous finding that is widely cited as a convincing demonstration of human reconsolidation. In Experiments 8-10, I revisit the ‘destructive updating’ account of the classic ‘misinformation effect’ in the context of reconsolidation theory. These experiments show that the effect can be eliminated when an appropriate recognition test is used, demonstrating that event traces are not irrecoverably lost, and therefore cannot have been overwritten during reconsolidation. In Experiment 11, I examine whether prior retrieval will help or hinder the correction of naturally occurring semantic misconceptions. Contrary to reconsolidation theory, I find that knowledge updating is not contingent on memory retrieval, nor does it result in the overwriting of prior knowledge.Finally, in the context of media ‘breaking news’ reports (Experiment 12), I find that the provision of an explicit retraction message, coupled with an alternative account with high causal coverage, is insufficient to eliminate reliance on false information. Finally, I contend that the widespread proliferation of ad hoc hypotheses, and the absence of systematic direct replication, has caused the field of reconsolidation to descend into a theoretical quagmire.I make several recommendations based on the principles of open science that may help to restore mechanisms of self-correction and foster genuine theoretical progress.

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The spreading of misinformation online

Cited by 1,691 publications

References 34 publications

Statistical physics of vaccination

Statistical physics of vaccination

Anatomy of news consumption on Facebook

Persistence and plasticity in the human memory system: An empirical investigation of the overwriting hypothesis

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