Work

On the graph theory of majority illusions: theoretical results and computational experiments

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The popularity of an opinion in one's direct circles is not necessarily a good indicator of its popularity in one's entire community. Network structures make local information about global properties of the group potentially inaccurate, and the way a social network is wired constrains what kind of information distortion can actually occur. In this paper, we discuss which classes of networks allow for a large enough proportion of the population to get a wrong enough impression about the overall distribution of opinions. We start by focusing on the 'majority illusion', the case where one sees a majority opinion in one's direct circles that differs from the global majority. We show that no network structure can guarantee that most agents see the correct majority. We then perform computational experiments to study the likelihood of majority illusions in different classes of networks. Finally, we generalize to other types of illusions. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10458-025-09720-w.

Source: Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems

DOI: 10.1007/s10458-025-09720-w

Authors: Maaike Venema-Los, Zoé Christoff, Davide Grossi

Institutions: University of Groningen, University of Amsterdam

Language: English

Topic: Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence

Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,290

Funders: European Commission, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme