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Rumors and Social Networks

Author

Listed:
  • Francis Bloch

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • Gabrielle Demange

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Rachel Kranton

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

Why do people spread rumors? This paper studies the transmission of possibly false information---by rational agents who seek the truth. Unbiased agents earn payoffs when a collective decision is correct in that it matches the true state of the world, which is initially unknown. One agent learns the underlying state and chooses whether to send a true or false message to her friends and neighbors who then decide whether or not to transmit it further. The papers hows how a social network can serve as a filter. Agents block messages from parts of the network that contain many biased agents; the messages that circulate may be incorrect but sufficiently informative as to the correct decision.

Suggested Citation

  • Francis Bloch & Gabrielle Demange & Rachel Kranton, 2014. "Rumors and Social Networks," PSE Working Papers halshs-00966234, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-00966234
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00966234
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    Other versions of this item:

    • Francis Bloch & Gabrielle Demange & Rachel Kranton, 2018. "Rumors And Social Networks," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 59(2), pages 421-448, May.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    5. Daron Acemoglu & Asuman Ozdaglar, 2011. "Opinion Dynamics and Learning in Social Networks," Dynamic Games and Applications, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 3-49, March.
    6. Peter M. DeMarzo & Dimitri Vayanos & Jeffrey Zwiebel, 2003. "Persuasion Bias, Social Influence, and Unidimensional Opinions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(3), pages 909-968.
    7. Paul Niehaus, 2011. "Filtered Social Learning," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 119(4), pages 686-720.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Michel Grabisch & Agnieszka Rusinowska, 2020. "A Survey on Nonstrategic Models of Opinion Dynamics," Games, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-29, December.
    2. Ozan Candogan & Nicole Immorlica & Bar Light & Jerry Anunrojwong, 2022. "Social Learning under Platform Influence: Consensus and Persistent Disagreement," Papers 2202.12453, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2023.
    3. Emeric Henry & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya & Sergei Guriev, 2022. "Checking and Sharing Alt-Facts," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 55-86, August.
    4. Buechel, Berno & Mechtenberg, Lydia, 2019. "The swing voter's curse in social networks," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 241-268.
    5. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/27dls12b6d8aor7i6sipg9ie3g is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Tabasso, Nicole, 2019. "Diffusion of multiple information: On information resilience and the power of segregation," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 219-240.
    7. Mauleon, Ana & Schopohl, Simon & Vannetelbosch, Vincent, 2020. "Competition for leadership in teams," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 19-33.
    8. Monica Anna Giovanniello, 2017. "Echo Chambers: Voter-to-Voter Communication and Political Competition," 2017 Papers pgi364, Job Market Papers.
    9. Michel Grabisch & Agnieszka Rusinowska & Xavier Venel, 2019. "Diffusion in countably infinite networks," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 19017, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    10. Halberstam, Yosh & Knight, Brian, 2016. "Homophily, group size, and the diffusion of political information in social networks: Evidence from Twitter," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 73-88.
    11. Luca P. Merlino & Paolo Pin & Nicole Tabasso, 2023. "Debunking Rumors in Networks," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 467-496, February.
    12. Lin Hu & Anqi Li & Xu Tan, 2021. "A Rational Inattention Theory of Echo Chamber," Papers 2104.10657, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2023.
    13. Fu, Wentao & Sun, Yang, 2021. "Rumor investigation in networks," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 168-178.
    14. Fu, Wentao & Hua, Di & Qian, Xuewen & Sun, Yang, 2022. "Constrained public goods in weighted networks with heterogeneous agents," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    15. Lodh, Rishab & Dey, Oindrila, 2023. "“Fake news alert!”: A game of misinformation and news consumption behavior," MPRA Paper 118371, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Takako Fujiwara-Greve & Toru Hokari, 2023. "Farsighted Clustering with Group-Size Effects and Reputations," Dynamic Games and Applications, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 610-635, June.
    17. Wichers, Hendrika Geesje, 2023. "Targeted intervention using network characteristics: An experiment," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    18. Gieczewski, Germán, 2022. "Verifiable communication on networks," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    19. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/27dls12b6d8aor7i6sipg9ie3g is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Alexis Poindron & Nizar Allouch, 2024. "A Model of Competing Gangs in Networks," Games, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-15, February.
    21. Kathrin Eismann, 2021. "Diffusion and persistence of false rumors in social media networks: implications of searchability on rumor self-correction on Twitter," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 91(9), pages 1299-1329, November.

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    Keywords

    Bayesian updating; Rumors; Misinformation; Social networks;
    All these keywords.

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