Rumor propagation meets skepticism: a parallel with zombies

TL;DR

This paper introduces a model of rumor spreading that incorporates skepticism, showing how active resistance and passive fact-checking can lead to complex dynamics similar to zombie outbreaks, including bistability and polarization.

Contribution

It presents a novel rumor spreading model combining active skepticism and passive fact-checking, revealing bistability and conditions for rumor extinction or persistence.

Findings

Strong skepticism can prevent rumor spread.

Bistability leads to polarized outcomes.

Initial exposure influences rumor fate.

Abstract

We propose a model of rumor spreading in which susceptible, but skeptically oriented individuals may oppose the rumor. Resistance may be implemented either by skeptical activists trying to convince spreaders to stop their activity, becoming stiflers or, passively (non-reactive) as a consequence, for example, of fact-checking. Interestingly, these two mechanisms, when combined, are similar to the (assumed) spreading of a fictitious zombie outbreak, where survivors actively target infected people. We analyse the well-mixed (mean-field) description and obtain the conditions for rumors (zombies) to spread through the whole population. The results show that when the skepticism is strong enough, the model predicts the coexistence of two fixed points (such bistability may be related to polarized situations), with the fate of rumors depending on the initial exposure to it.