You are invited to "Modelling the spread of disinformation" webinar given by Başak Taraktaş (Boğaziçi University).

Abstract:
Using an agent-based model, we simulate how deliberately diffused disinformation spreads in a community. We define disinformation as false, inaccurate, or misleading information deliberately disseminated to cause harm or reap profit. The results of our simulations are based on reinterpreting a susceptible-infected/removed/recovered model (SIR model), that epidemiologists use to model the spread of infectious diseases (e.g., COVID-19), as a model of communication. The main finding is that disinformation is most likely to spread in communities where social interactions are densest. Whereas if the frequency of social interactions dampens, then disinformation diffusion is slowed down, even if deliberate efforts at disseminating disinformation are intensified. We critically discuss the assumptions underlying these results and point to future research needs.

Click here to access the paper.

You can join the webinar by clicking here.

The seminar will be streamed live via Zoom
November 12, 2021 - 16:00