How Information Diffuse in a Nomination Network

TL;DR

This study analyzes how information spreads in a nomination-based social network during COVID-19, focusing on different diffusion modes and core communicators' roles, revealing co-dependent distribution patterns and potential explanatory factors.

Contribution

It introduces an analysis of information diffusion modes in a nomination network during COVID-19, highlighting core communicators' roles and homophily factors influencing spread.

Findings

Core communicators show co-dependent distribution.

Different diffusion modes are influenced by homophily factors.

Network modularity affects information spread patterns.

Abstract

During the special period of the COVID-19 outbreak, this project investigated the driving factors in different information diffusion modes (i.e. broadcasting mode, contagion mode) based on the nomination relations in a social welfare campaign on Weibo. Specifically, we mapped a nomination social network and tracked the core communicators in both modes. Besides, we also observed the network from perspectives such as relationships between core communicators and modularity of the whole network. We extracted 6 homophily factors and tested them on 2 representative communities within the largest component of the network. We found that some core communicators distributed in a co-dependent way. At last, we supposed several explanations to the phenomenon which can be explored in further research.