Rumor Dynamic Model considering Intentional Spreaders in Social Network

Abstract

The development of network technology has created various platforms and methods for information dissemination. When rumors spread in social networks, they will rapidly spread and may cause social harm. Also, there are groups in social networks that create and spread rumors for the purpose of profit, thus expanding the scope of rumors. Therefore, based on the theory of complex network propagation dynamics, the study of the propagation law of rumors and the design of effective prevention and control strategies is of practical importance and theoretical significance for understanding the propagation laws of rumors and controlling the outbreak of rumors. The spreading process of rumors on social network platforms is focused here. The intentional spreader based on the classic rumor-spreading model is introduced. First, 2SIR rumor-spreading models on homogeneous and heterogeneous networks are established, respectively. Second, the steady-state analysis was separately carried out, and the corresponding propagation critical value was obtained: in the homogeneous network, the condition for the large-scale spread of rumors is α > m / k ¯ or β > δ / k ¯ ; in the heterogeneous network, the condition for the large-scale spread of rumors is α > m k ¯ / k 2 ¯ or β > δ k ¯ / k 2 ¯ . Finally, the simulation calculation and model feasibility verification were carried out on the model. The results show that the theoretical propagation threshold corresponds with the simulation results. According to the simulation results, the final influence of rumors has significantly decreased with decreasing values of β (intentional spreading rate) instead of α (unintentional spreading rate). It can be concluded that in the real-life rumor control process, more resources need to be invested in reducing the rate of intentional transmission instead of being indiscriminately put on controlling all spreaders of rumors.