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The Dynamics of Online Opinion Formation: Polarization Around the Vaccine Development for COVID-19

In: Causes and Symptoms of Socio-Cultural Polarization

Author

Listed:
  • Gaurav Jain

    (Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad)

  • Avinash Bapu Sreenivas

    (Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad)

  • Samrat Gupta

    (Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad)

  • Amit Anand Tiwari

    (Indian Institute of Management Rohtak)

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), social media-induced polarization caused due to the spread of misinformation related to the efficacy and side effects of a COVID-19 vaccine is potentially leading to vaccine hesitancy, one of the top ten threats to global health. In this study, we investigate the dynamics of social media polarization around COVID-19 vaccine which could be one of the causes of vaccine hesitancy. We use a simulation-based model of dynamical co-evolution in adaptive networks wherein interacting individuals influence each other’s opinions to arrive at a final network state. The opinion formation model simulates the temporal dynamics of social media polarization on the comments posted on different COVID-19 vaccine-development-related YouTube videos. The experimental results suggest that the degree of polarization in the online discourse, as measured by the time taken to form consensus, increases with recency in time. This finding significantly contributes to the highly contested debate around whether the flow of information on social media fosters or counteracts polarization.

Suggested Citation

  • Gaurav Jain & Avinash Bapu Sreenivas & Samrat Gupta & Amit Anand Tiwari, 2022. "The Dynamics of Online Opinion Formation: Polarization Around the Vaccine Development for COVID-19," Springer Books, in: Israr Qureshi & Babita Bhatt & Samrat Gupta & Amit Anand Tiwari (ed.), Causes and Symptoms of Socio-Cultural Polarization, pages 51-72, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-981-16-5268-4_3
    DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-5268-4_3
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