Information Spread In A Social Media Age

Introduces the topic gently and intuitively with ample famous examples and case studies Develops and explains intuitively the information flow models, and thereafter builds the control theory for information management and propagation Includes mathematical treatment of information spread and fake news epidemics and step by step development of modeling framework Discusses Control methods and application examples Borrows from multiple disciplines and sub-disciplines and tries to create a new unified structure for digital information spread and control

The rise of social networks and social media has led to a massive shift in the ways information is dispersed. Platforms like Twitter and Facebook allow people to more easily connect as a community, but they can also be avenues for misinformation, fake news, and polarization. The need to examine, model, and analyze the trajectory of information spread within this new paradigm has never been greater. This text expands upon the authors’ combined teaching experience, engineering knowledge, and multiple academic journal publications on these topics to present an intuitive and easy to understand exploration of social media information spread alongside the technical and mathematical concepts. By design, this book uses simple language and accessible and modern case studies (including those centered around United States mass shootings, the #MeToo social movement, and more) to ensure it is accessible to the casual reader. At the same time, readers with prior knowledge of the topics will benefit from the mathematical model and control elements and accompanying sample simulation code for each main topic. By reading this book and working through the included exercises, readers will gain a general understanding of modern social media systems, network fundamentals, model development techniques, and social marketing. The mathematical modeling of information spread over social media is heavily emphasized through a review of existing epidemiology and marketing based models. The book then presents novel models developed by the authors to account for modern social media concerns such as community filter bubbles, strongly polarized groups, and contentious information spread. Readers will learn how to build and execute simple case studies using Twitter data to help verify the text’s proposed models. Once the reader is armed with a fundamental understanding of mathematical modeling and social media-based system considerations, the book introduces more complex engineering control concepts, including controller design, PID control, and optimal control. Examples of control methods for social campaigns and misinformation mitigation applications are covered in a step-by-step format from problem formulation to solution simulation and results discussions. While many of the examples and methods are framed in the context of controlling social media information spread, the material is also directly applicable to many different types of controllable systems. With the essential background, models, and tools presented within, any interested reader can take the first steps toward exploring and taming the growing complexity of the modern social media age.

New perspectives on the misinformation ecosystem that is the production and circulation of fake news. What is fake news? Is it an item on Breitbart, an article in The Onion, an outright falsehood disseminated via Russian bot, or a catchphrase used by a politician to discredit a story he doesn't like? This book examines the real fake news: the constant flow of purposefully crafted, sensational, emotionally charged, misleading or totally fabricated information that mimics the form of mainstream news. Rather than viewing fake news through a single lens, the book maps the various kinds of misinformation through several different disciplinary perspectives, taking into account the overlapping contexts of politics, technology, and journalism. The contributors consider topics including fake news as “disorganized” propaganda; folkloric falsehood in the “Pizzagate” conspiracy; native advertising as counterfeit news; the limitations of regulatory reform and technological solutionism; Reddit's enabling of fake news; the psychological mechanisms by which people make sense of information; and the evolution of fake news in America. A section on media hoaxes and satire features an oral history of and an interview with prankster-activists the Yes Men, famous for parodies that reveal hidden truths. Finally, contributors consider possible solutions to the complex problem of fake news—ways to mitigate its spread, to teach students to find factually accurate information, and to go beyond fact-checking. Contributors Mark Andrejevic, Benjamin Burroughs, Nicholas Bowman, Mark Brewin, Elizabeth Cohen, Colin Doty, Dan Faltesek, Johan Farkas, Cherian George, Tarleton Gillespie, Dawn R. Gilpin, Gina Giotta, Theodore Glasser, Amanda Ann Klein, Paul Levinson, Adrienne Massanari, Sophia A. McClennen, Kembrew McLeod, Panagiotis Takis Metaxas, Paul Mihailidis, Benjamin Peters, Whitney Phillips, Victor Pickard, Danielle Polage, Stephanie Ricker Schulte, Leslie-Jean Thornton, Anita Varma, Claire Wardle, Melissa Zimdars, Sheng Zou

“Empowering and thoroughly researched, this book offers useful contemporary analysis and possible solutions to one of the greatest threats to democracy.” —Kirkus Reviews Editors’ choice, The New York Times Book Review Recommended reading, Scientific American Why should we care about having true beliefs? And why do demonstrably false beliefs persist and spread despite bad, even fatal, consequences for the people who hold them? Philosophers of science Cailin O’Connor and James Weatherall argue that social factors, rather than individual psychology, are what’s essential to understanding the spread and persistence of false beliefs. It might seem that there’s an obvious reason that true beliefs matter: false beliefs will hurt you. But if that’s right, then why is it (apparently) irrelevant to many people whether they believe true things or not? The Misinformation Age, written for a political era riven by “fake news,” “alternative facts,” and disputes over the validity of everything from climate change to the size of inauguration crowds, shows convincingly that what you believe depends on who you know. If social forces explain the persistence of false belief, we must understand how those forces work in order to fight misinformation effectively. “[The authors] deftly apply sociological models to examine how misinformation spreads among people and how scientific results get misrepresented in the public sphere.” —Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American “A notable new volume . . . The Misinformation Age explains systematically how facts are determined and changed—whether it is concerning the effects of vaccination on children or the Russian attack on the integrity of the electoral process.” —Roger I. Abrams, New York Journal of Books

Over the last few years, social media has expanded to become a key platform for news dissemination and circulation, and a key orginator and propogator of 'fake news'.. Nations, governments, organisations and societies are now coming to terms with the unpredictable and debilitating consequences of fake news. The propagation of news containing falsehoods has been linked to an increase in measles cases, surges in youth crimes, the spread of pseudo-science, compromised national security, and more. Some even perceive it as a global threat to democratic systems around the world. In this book, the authors examine factors influencing the spread of fake news, and suggest ways to combat it by exploring the key elements which enable and facilitate this phenomenon.

A state-of-the-art account of what we know and do not know about the effects of digital technology on democracy.

"This book offers insights into social media practices and challenges in developing nations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Covering different aspects of social media during the pandemic, the book offers new frameworks, concepts, tools and techniques for integrating social media to support national development. Thematically organised chapters from a global team of scholars address the different aspects of social media during pandemic. The book begins by looking at ICT for development and how development agencies have used social media platforms, before looking at engagement with these social media campaigns and the spread of misinformation. Further chapters cover the practical uses of social media in healthcare and virtual medicine, mental health issues and challenges, remote education, and government policies. This timely volume will be of interest to scholars and students of social media, health communication, global development studies and NGO communication"--

This book shows how disinformation spread by partisan organizations and media platforms undermines institutional legitimacy on which authoritative information depends.