Social contagion in a world with asymmetric influence.

Abstract

Social media has blurred the distinction between news outlets and social networks by giving everyone access to mass communication. We simulate how influencers compete for attention on a social network by spreading information. The network structure occupies an ordered metastable state where one influencer maintains dominance for a sustained period or a fragmented state that divides attention between influencers. Numerical simulations are performed to map the domain of the ordered regime on various network topologies. Mutual coexistence between a few dominating influencers occurs on a scale-free social network. Our findings suggest the perception of fake news as a pervasive problem is endemic to a society where everyone can become a news outlet.