Characterizing Online User Dynamics Through the Lens of Misinformation Exposure and Community Loyalty

Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/sq87bv89b

Abstract

The proliferation of online social networks brings more and more users together and provides abundant content for them to explore as individuals or groups. As a crucial part of online social networks, user dynamics brings energy and diversity to the platforms. Meanwhile, different societal issues emerge from it. Plenty of behavior provides us with a good amount of resources to understand human and society.

In this dissertation, we have conducted work studying online user dynamics in two aspects. In the first part, we investigate the potential impact of misinformation on individual users through their behavioral change after exposure to online misinformation. Behavioral metrics are developed to measure the change. In the second part, we study user loyalty change as a group member, by characterizing the bandwagon behavior in online sports fan communities. We have developed features and models to effectively predict bandwagon behavior. Our results on the first part provide a deeper dive into misinformation’s impact on users and good insights on helping combating misinformation. The results on the second part provides a comprehensive view of sports fan bandwagon phenomenon, as well as good design implications on improving online community management.

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