A Structural Hole-Based Approach to Control Public Opinion

Abstract

Structural hole spanners play an important role in information diffusion. Compared with opinion leader, structural hole spanners have better location in social network to expand the scope of information diffusion. In the past, researchers focused on the evolution rules and the opinion dynamics environments to monitor public opinion and even manage public opinion to the place they want. In this paper, we propose a novel structural-hole-based approach to control public opinion in social networks (shorten for SHCPO approach). We discuss influences of opinion evolution with ordinary agents and structural hole spanners via using our improving Friedkin-Johnsen (FJ) model. We analysis evolution tendency of public opinion, which is the final consensus of public opinion via FJ model, with ordinary agents in a community and with structural hole spanners in joint communities. We conclude three kinds of connections between structural hole spanners and ordinary agents in joint communities. They are structural hole spanners connecting (1) two opinion leaders; (2) two ordinary agents; (3) one opinion leader and one ordinary agents. The three connections will lead to different conditions for opinion evolution. And then, we remove the connections if public opinion tendencies are negative in joint communities and its end-communities. It prevents public opinion of the community and one of its end-communities. It guides the public opinion tendencies of joint communities going towards positive. The experiment result shows that SHCPO approach has certain extent effects.