On the optimal dissemination of information in social networks

Abstract

We consider social networks which contain agents that spread misinformation and refuse to change their opinion. For a fixed number of information disseminating agents, we formulate an optimization problem to find their optimal location within the network such that the spread of misinformation is countered and public awareness is maximally raised. Once the location of the information disseminators is identified, we examine how to maximize their social influence either by creating new social links or by strengthening their existing links. Our formulation leads to a combinatorial optimization problem that is solved using the alternating direction method of multipliers. Illustrative examples are provided to demonstrate our theoretical developments.