How the contact differences and individuals’ similarity affect the rumor propagation process in complex heterogeneous networks

In this paper, we investigate how the contact differences and individuals’ similarity affect the rumor propagation process in complex heterogeneous networks. Unlike existing models that neglect the contact differences or assume the homogeneity of individuals’ characteristics, the spreading rate in the proposed model is no longer deemed to be a constant, but it changes when the rumor spreads between different individuals. By means of the mean-field method, the spreading threshold and the final size of the rumor are explicitly derived. Two types of rumor control strategies are theoretically analyzed by comparing their effects on the spreading threshold. To verify the theoretical results, a series of numerical simulations are presented. The simulation results demonstrate that a lower contact rate impedes the diffusion process, and a higher degree of individuals’ similarity promotes the flow of information among individuals. The two factors (i.e. high enough the contact rate and degree of individuals’ similarity) are crucial to sustain the spreading process, and the absence of either of them would significantly increase the threshold. In addition, the results of the comparison of different control strategies suggest that controlling the spreading behavior of individuals with higher degrees can more effectively suppress the evolutionary process of the rumor.