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This paper explores the structural characteristics of information dissemination on WhatsApp, focusing particularly on the concepts of "breadth" and "depth." "Breadth" refers to the maximum number of groups to which a message is simultaneously forwarded, while "depth" indicates the maximum number of times a message is forwarded. Using a dataset from 1,600 groups in India comprising over 760,000 messages spanning text, images, and videos, this study employs hashing techniques to track message propagation in a privacy-preserving manner. Analysis of cascade size, breadth, and depth reveals significant trends: text and video messages tend to generate larger cascade sizes compared to images. Contrary to public platforms, depth emerges as the primary driver behind widespread information dissemination (which could be due to WhatsApp's limitations on message broadcasts). Additionally, distinct disparities among message types show depth as the decisive factor in text and video cascades, while both breadth and depth significantly contribute to image cascades. These findings underscore the importance of considering structural nuances in understanding information spread dynamics on private messaging platforms, providing valuable insights for effective dissemination strategies and management in digital communication landscapes.
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Learning through the grapevine and the impact of the breadth and depth of social networks
We study how communication platforms can improve social learning without censoring or fact-checking messages, when they have members who deliberately and/or inadvertently distort information. Message fidelity depends on social network depth (how many times information can be relayed) and breadth (the number of others with whom a typical user shares information). We characterize how the expected number of true minus false messages depends on breadth and depth of the network and the noise structure. Message fidelity can be improved by capping depth or, if that is not possible, limiting breadth, e.g., by capping the number of people to whom someone can forward a given message. Although caps reduce total communication, they increase the fraction of received messages that have traveled shorter distances and have had less opportunity to be altered, thereby increasing the signal-to-noise ratio.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2018554
- PAR ID:
- 10432617
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Volume:
- 119
- Issue:
- 34
- ISSN:
- 0027-8424
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2205549119
