Opinion dynamics modelling: distinct attraction and repulsion topologies highlight quantitative effects of trolling

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel opinion dynamics model combining attraction and repulsion interactions, revealing how controversy influences consensus, polarization, and dissensus, and simulating troll-like manipulative effects on social networks.

Contribution

It introduces a new nonlinear differential equation model with distinct attraction and repulsion networks, capturing the effects of controversy and trolling in opinion formation.

Findings

Low controversialness leads to consensus.

High controversialness causes polarization and clustering.

Distinct networks for attraction and repulsion enable simulation of trolling effects.

Abstract

We introduce a model of opinion dynamics based on networked non-linear differential equations. The model combines a linear attraction with a repulsive hyperbolic tangent interaction, labeled controversialness. For low controversialness the model displays universal consensus, which is typical of opinion models. As controversialness increases, opinion behaviours such as polarisation, clustering and dissensus emerge, dependent on the network topology. By placing attractive and repulsive interactions on distinct networks, this model is able to simulate the manipulative effects of trolls by introducing controversy, which may be associated with mis/disinformation, toxic messaging, and encouraging provocative questioning and/or emotional posting. This work offers an analytical and statistical analysis of model results, under a wide variety of topologies and initial conditions, whilst also generalising cluster detection algorithms typically applied to discrete models.