![]() ![]() Think of a diagram in which each agent is represented by a dot, or node, and is linked via lines to other nodes, representing friends or followers. These models originate from an older class of simulations that study how diseases spread through a community. Mathematical models for exploring how memes spread on social media networks are known as agent-based models because they require the active participation of “agents,” a techie term for individuals. All three conspire to spread some of the worst memes at the expense of the best ones. They are: the enormous amount of information out there the limited amount of time and attention people can devote to scrolling through their news feeds and choosing what to share and the structure of the underlying social networks. The researchers demonstrate, however, that just three inexorable factors can explain a network’s inability to distinguish truth from falsehood in memes, even if individuals can. “The competition is so harsh that the good stuff cannot bubble to the top.”Ĭhances are that in the virtual world, the beauty of a photograph or the persuasiveness of an article do help to spread a “meme”-the term Menczer and his colleagues use for a link, video, phrase or other unit of online information. ![]() “If you live in a world where you are bombarded with junk-even if you’re good at discriminating-you’re only seeing a portion of what’s out there, so you still may share misinformation,” explains computer scientist Filippo Menczer of Indiana University Bloomington (I.U.), one of the model’s co-authors. It is often impossible to see everything that comes into one’s news feed, let alone confirm it. Even in a perfect world, where everyone wants to share real news and is capable of evaluating the veracity of every claim, some fake news would still reach thousands (or even millions) of people, simply because of information overload. A bare-bones model of how news spreads on social media, published in June in Nature Human Behavior, indicates that just about anything can go viral. ![]() What drives the astonishing popularity of such stories? Are we a particularly gullible species? Perhaps not-maybe we’re just overwhelmed. Shape-shifting reptilian extraterrestrials that can control human minds are running the U.S. Photos taken by a Chinese orbiter reveal an alien settlement on the moon! ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |