Turing instability analysis of a reaction–diffusion system for rumor propagation in continuous space and complex networks

Abstract

Research on the propagation of online rumors necessitates careful consideration of rumor-spreading mechanisms. Media correction, self-correction, and the time delays associated with contact propagation are expressly introduced into the established reactive–diffusion rumor-spreading model in this paper. The conditions for a unique positive equilibrium point in the model are analyzed, laying the necessary groundwork for the occurrence of Turing instability in reaction–diffusion rumor propagation systems. A linearization approach is employed to derive the conditions for Turing instability in scenarios involving small delay to address the challenges posed by models with time delay. Furthermore, in order to anticipate the Turing pattern formation in advance, we employed a multiscale analysis approach to derive the amplitude equation within this model. The validity of the theoretical results is verified through numerical simulations, while the propagation dynamics of the model were analyzed within two complex network models, namely small-world networks and scale-free networks. Simulation results indicate that increasing time delay decelerates rumor propagation, while higher degrees of cross-diffusion, contact spreading, media correction, and self-correction expedite the spread of rumors. In small-world networks, the trust level in rumors has a narrower range, while in scale-free networks, the stability of rumors is faster. This indicates how to effectively adjust network structures for controlling or managing the spread of rumors.