"Misinformation Network Topology": Mapping Sacred-Value-Driven Virality on Closed Platforms

Garimella et al. (2024) find "striking similarities" in viral misinformation across countries but don’t explain why. Pretus et al. (2023) identify sacred values as key drivers of sharing. This idea merges these insights: We’ll map misinformation networks on WhatsApp/Telegram to test if content tied to sacred values (e.g., immigration, religion) exhibits distinct topological features (e.g., higher clustering, modular structures). Unlike Garimella et al.’s content analysis, we’ll use temporal network models to simulate how sacred-value narratives bypass fact-checking by exploiting tight-knit subnetworks. This synthesizes political psychology (sacred values) with network science, offering a predictive framework for misinformation spread on encrypted platforms—where traditional moderation fails.

References:

1. Global Patterns of Viral Content on WhatsApp. Kiran Garimella, Princessa Cintaqia, Juan Jose Rojas-Constain, B. Nayak, Aditya Vashistha (2024). International Conference on Web and Social Media.
2. The role of political devotion in sharing partisan misinformation and resistance to fact-checking.. C. Pretus, Camila Servin-Barthet, Elizabeth Harris, W. Brady, Ó. Vilarroya, J. V. Van Bavel (2023). Journal of experimental psychology. General.