Polarization with the Friedkin-Johnsen model over a dynamic social network

With the rise of social media platforms, we have witnessed the emergence of alarming phenomena in public debates, such as the polarization of opinions. The Friedkin-Johnsen model is a very popular model in opinion dynamics, validated on real groups, and well-investigated from the opinion polarization standpoint. Previous research has focused almost exclusively on static networks, where links between nodes do not evolve over time. However, it has been shown that they can break down if they are not strong enough to sustain disagreement.

In this micro-project, we want to fill this gap by designing a variant of the Friedkin-Johnsen model that embeds the dynamicity of social networks. Furthermore, we will design a novel definition of global polarization that combines network features and opinion distribution, to capture the existence of clustered opinions. We will analyse the polarization effect of the new dynamic model, and identify the impact of the network structure.

Output

Code of the simulator for the new dynamic model

Working paper, to be published in a workshop (possibly conference)

Project Partners:

• Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Elisabetta Biondi
• Central European University (CEU), Janos Kertesz
• Central European University (CEU), Gerardo Iniguez

Primary Contact: Elisabetta Biondi, CNR-IIT