Diffusion of Pro-and Anti-false Information Tweets: the Black Panther Movie Case
By Matthew Babcock, Ramon Cox, Kumar Sumeet
Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory | March 2019
Citation
Babcock, Matthew., Cox, Ramon., Sumeet, Kumar. Diffusion of Pro-and Anti-false Information Tweets: the Black Panther Movie Case Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory .
Copyright
Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, 2019
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Abstract
Much has been made of the importance of the speed at which disinformation diffuses through online social media and this speed is an important aspect to consider when designing interventions. An additional complexity is that there can be different types of false information that travel from and through different communities who respond in various ways within the same social media conversation. Here we present a case study/example analysis exploring the speed and reach of three different types of false stories found in the Black Panther movie Twitter conversation and comparing the diffusion of these stories with the community responses to them. We find that the negative reaction to fake stories of racially-motivated violence whether in the form of debunking quotes or satirical posts can spread at speeds that are magnitudes higher than the original fake stories. Satire posts, while less viral than debunking quotes, appear to have longer lifetimes in the conversation. We also found that the majority of mixed community members who originally spread fake stories switched to attacking them. Our work serves as an example of the importance of analyzing the diffusion of both different types of disinformation and the different responses to it within the same overall conversation.

Sumeet Kumar is an Assistant Professor of Information Systems at the Indian School of Business (ISB). He studies problems at the intersection of technology and society. He is interested in analysing user behaviour, quantifying polarisation on online forums , and finding advertisements disguised as regular content on online platforms. His current focus is on identifying implicit or hidden advertisements in videos posted on children’s platforms such as YouTube Kids.

Additionally, Professor Kumar has conducted research in software design and development, with particular emphasis on user experience. He has investigated the use of mobile phone sensors during emergencies to improve situational awareness. His study on the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) service in the United States addressed several issues of critical importance to emergency alerts effectiveness and adoption. Notably, some of his research recommendations was included in the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed changes to WEA.

He completed his undergraduate education at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. He holds two Master’s degrees—in Software Engineering and in Machine Learning--both from Carnegie Mellon University, where he also earned his doctorate degree.

Sumeet Kumar
Sumeet Kumar