Evolutionary Game Dynamics of the Competitive Information Propagation on Social Networks

Abstract

To better control the scope of information propagation and understand its dynamic characteristics, we propose an information propagation model based on evolutionary game theory. The model can simulate an individual’s strategy selection in social networks when facing two pieces of competitive information, whereby “competitive information” is defined as two pieces of information which have the opposite meaning. First, a reasonable payoff function is designed for individuals based on pairwise interaction. Second, each individual selects a friend it trusts. Third, a probability value is used to indicate whether an individual imitates the strategy of the selected friend. In the model, we consider not only the heterogeneous influence of friends’ strategies on individual decision-making in the process of communication but also the attenuation of individuals’ attention to information when information about friends is received repeatedly. The simulation results show that our model can accurately simulate the propagation of two pieces of competitive information. Furthermore, we find that the basic payoff that accrues to individuals as a result of spreading their information and the network topology are two factors that significantly influence the propagation result. The results provide effective insights into how to better control and guide public opinion.

A study on the competitive dissemination of disinformation and knowledge on social media

“…Third, this paper focuses on social media users, which is different from previous studies that focus on the game between the public and other subjects, such as the public and the government (Zhao et al. , 2021a, b), the public and social platforms (Yang et al. , 2019), enterprises and consumers (Li et al.…”

“…Yang et al (2020) proposed a competitive diffusion model, namely Linear Threshold model with One Direction state Transition (LT1DT), aiming at reducing the diffusion of disinformation by spreading correct information. Yang et al (2019) regarded disinformation and knowledge as competitive information and consider the influence of friends on users' forwarding behavior. It can be observed from the above research studies that most studies consider knowledge as a fixed solution to the dissemination of disinformation.…”

“…Liu et al (2021) proposed a theoretical framework to describe the co-evolution of competitive cognitions and public opinion environment using co-evolutionary game theory. Yang et al (2019) proposed a propagation model that analyzes two pieces of competitive information based on evolutionary game theory, in which each individual selects one of their friends and decides whether to imitate the strategy that the selected friend has adopted. The simulation results show that the average degree and average clustering coefficient have a significant influence on the propagation results.…”

A Novel Tripartite Evolutionary Game Model for Misinformation Propagation in Social Networks

“…ey analyzed the relationships of user behaviors, preferences, and ratings in this game model. To better understand information propagation scope and dynamic characteristics, Yang et al [23] proposed an information propagation model with an evolutionary game.…”

Dynamic Analysis of a Competition‐Cooperation Enterprise Cluster with Core‐Satellite Structure and Time Delay

“…e competition-cooperation relationship widely exists in the real enterprise clusters and has a major impact on the evolution of enterprise clusters [5][6][7][8][9]. To study the influence of competition and cooperation on the evolution of enterprise clusters, researchers propose a competition-cooperation enterprise cluster model [10] based on the ecology model [11][12][13][14][15], which is described as follows:…”