Nonlinear spread of rumor and inoculation strategies in the nodes with degree dependent tie strength in complex networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a modified rumor spreading model considering degree-dependent tie strength and nonlinear spread dynamics, analyzing its behavior in scale-free networks and evaluating inoculation strategies for rumor control.

Contribution

It proposes a new rumor spreading model with degree-dependent parameters and studies its implications for rumor thresholds and inoculation effectiveness in complex networks.

Findings

Rumor threshold becomes finite with degree-dependent parameters.

Targeted inoculation significantly raises rumor threshold compared to random inoculation.

Proper tuning of model parameters can make rumor spread independent of network size.

Abstract

In earlier rumor spreading models, at each time step nodes contact all of their neighbors. In more realistic scenario it is possible that a node may contact only some of its neighbors to spread the rumor. Therefore it is must in real world complex networks, the classic rumor spreading model need to be modified to consider the dependence of rumor spread rate on the degree of the spreader and the informed nodes. We have given a modified rumor spreading model to accommodate these facts. This new model, has been studied for rumor spreading in complex networks in this work. Nonlinear rumor spread exponent $\alpha$ and degree dependent tie strength exponent $\beta$ in any complex network gives rumor threshold as some finite value. In the present work, the modified rumor spreading model has been studied in scale free networks. It is also found that if $ \alpha $ and $ \beta $ parameters are tuned to appropriate value, the rumor threshold becomes independent of network size. In any social network, rumors can spread may have undesirable effect. One of the possible solutions to control rumor spread, is to inoculate a certain fraction of nodes against rumors. The inoculation can be done randomly or in a targeted fashion. We have used modified rumor spreading model over scale free networks to investigate the efficacy of inoculation. Random and targeted inoculation schemes have been applied. It has been observed that rumor threshold in random inoculation scheme is greater than the rumor threshold in the model without any inoculation scheme. But random inoculation is not that much effective. The rumor threshold in targeted inoculation is very high than the rumor threshold in the random inoculation in suppressing the rumor.