Modelling Misinformation Spread: The Role of Network Density in Diverse Social Structures

Abstract

Understanding the relationship between network features and misinformation propagation is crucial for mitigating the spread of false information. This study examines how network density affects the dissemination of hoax news using an SIR (Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered) framework. Our findings show that increased network density leads to more believers in misinformation, with the number of believers rising higher among more gullible individuals. In segregated networks, denser clusters have a higher proportion of believers, regardless of group gullibility parity. As an important result, a dense minority can significantly amplify belief percentages within majority groups, highlighting the substantial impact of minority structure on majority dynamics.