Influencers' Reposts and Viral Diffusion: Prestige Bias in Online Communities

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2411.05448v2
• Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2024 02:22:46 GMT
• Title: Influencers' Reposts and Viral Diffusion: Prestige Bias in Online Communities
• Authors: Takuro Niitsuma, Mitsuo Yoshida, Hideaki Tamori, Yo Nakawake,
• Abstract summary: We analyzed over 55 million posts and 520 million reposts on Twitter (currently X) Our findings indicate that posts shared by influencers were more likely to be further shared compared to those shared by non-influencers. A small group of highly influential users accounted for approximately half of the information flow within repost cascades.
• Score: 0.19285000127136376
• License:
• Abstract: Cultural evolution theory suggests that prestige bias (whereby individuals preferentially learn from prestigious figures) has played a key role in human ecological success. However, its impact within online environments remains unclear, particularly regarding whether reposts by prestigious individuals amplify diffusion more effectively than reposts by non-influential users. Here, we analyzed over 55 million posts and 520 million reposts on Twitter (currently X) to examine whether users with high influence scores (hg-index) more effectively amplified the reach of others' content. Our findings indicate that posts shared by influencers were more likely to be further shared compared to those shared by non-influencers. This effect persisted over time, especially in viral posts. Moreover, a small group of highly influential users accounted for approximately half of the information flow within repost cascades. These findings demonstrate a prestige bias in information diffusion within digital society, suggesting that cognitive biases shape content spread through reposting.

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