Social network dynamics, bots, and community-based online misinformation spread: Lessons from anti-refugee and COVID-19 misinformation cases
通过分析2016年反难民和2020年COVID-19两个错误信息分享社区的网络，发现错误信息传播具有传递性，且与成员的嵌入权威正相关，而高忠诚度成员的策略性分享反而难以获得动力，机器人影响则视情况而定。
Networked social influence and strategic information manipulation are two social mechanisms fueling misinformation spread in online communities. However, it is unclear how these two mechanisms differ in their impacts. We conducted social network analyses on two online communities sharing misinformation concerning refugees in 2016 and COVID-19 in 2020. The results robustly showed that online misinformation spread is transitive and positively associated with members’ embedded authority (i.e., the extent to which members’ information is exclusively shared within the focal community). At the same time, strategic misinformation sharing by members of high community loyalty (i.e., targeted information sharing within the community) is less likely to gain momentum. The impact of bots on misinformation is contingent. Findings suggest that networked social influence is a more powerful driver of misinformation spread than strategic information manipulation.