Echo Chambers as Gravity Wells

Fake news has become a bane to modern society on numerous fronts, from politics to medicine. To improve the automatic detection of fake news, we propose a generic model for echo chambers which will allow the simulation of social media groups across a variety of platforms. We emphasize employing data readily available from social media platforms to ensure the model’s applicability across a wide spectrum of social media. This model focuses on three foundational characteristics which we posit can bolster the formation of online echo chambers. Furthermore, the model makes use of a gravity well simulation to represent the effect of some social media groups’ ability to capture an audience’s attention and allegiance, often to the detriment of users, as well as to society as a whole. By applying the hypothesized model to nineteen subreddits from the Reddit social media platform and exploring more fully the twelve subreddits which reveal themselves as equivalent in “gravity potential”, we explore the model’s efficacy and future utility. Contributions include the proposed generic model for echo chambers including three pillars central to echo chamber formation, as well as the gravity well simulation for social media groups.