NUCLEAR NEWS: How Gossip Spreads

Арт-оформление: huxley.media via DALL·E 3

What happens when an information explosion is compared to a nuclear blast? It results in a new model for the spread of rumors and gossip. The scientific journal AIP Advances explained how uranium fission inspired physicists to develop this intriguing concept.

PRIMAL NEED

umors and gossip surround us everywhere — at work, on the street, in public transportation, or in educational institutions. They can help or harm, advance a career, or even spark mass unrest.

We rarely realize the extent to which rumors shape our world. Rumors influence public opinion, the economy, political and business processes, and personal and organizational reputations. They emerge in gaps where meaning is missing. Sometimes, they arise spontaneously from attempts to explain something that lacks a clear or consistent explanation. Other times, they are spread deliberately as part of mind-control strategies.

Fighting rumors is futile. One way or another, they are sought after by 75% of the population, filling the gap of missing information. This need is inherited from our primal ancestors, for whom rumors were the first and only form of communication vital for survival.

UTILITY AND PARADOXES

One type of rumor is gossip — plausible but unverified information. By gossiping about celebrities, people satisfy their natural curiosity and voyeuristic urge to peek through the keyhole into others’ lives. However, gossip isn’t always useless.

Sometimes, gossip becomes a valuable tool for socialization by making inaccessible knowledge available. For instance, gossip helps new employees integrate into a team more effectively and learn the corporate culture.

Let’s admit it — knowing who sides with whom, what is unacceptable, and what is worthy of respect or support is always critical for career success. However, don’t assume that higher education or income levels protect you from falling prey to unverified information.

Studies have revealed a social paradox: the higher the level of education and wealth, the greater the susceptibility to rumors.

RUMORS AS A VIRUS

Every rumor, like an infectious disease, has its own «life cycle». Sooner or later, the rumor fades as the collective consciousness «tires» of the topic and shifts its focus to something new. But how can the irrational processes of «rumor creation» be described in a rational, scientific way?

The first analogy that comes to mind is comparing a rumor epidemic to an outbreak of infectious disease. When we say that a social media post has gone «viral», it’s more than just a metaphor; it’s rooted in a tangible phenomenon.

Scientists have long considered creating a «rumor model» analogous to models used for infectious diseases. However, some researchers argue that such epidemiological models don’t always accurately reflect how rumors spread.

One such perspective comes from Chinese physicist Wenzhong Zheng, whose research on the topic was published in AIP Advances, a scientific journal by the American Institute of Physics.

LIMITATIONS OF THE «VIRAL MODEL»

«Infectious disease models mostly treat the spread of rumors as a passive contagion process, thereby overlooking the behavioral and psychological changes in people in the real world, as well as the influence of external events on rumor dissemination», explains Zheng.

To address this limitation, Zheng and his colleagues developed a rumor propagation model resembling the chain reaction triggered during nuclear fission. Let’s briefly recall how this process works. A uranium nucleus spontaneously splits into two smaller nuclei and several neutrons.

If other uranium nuclei absorb these neutrons, those nuclei will likely also split, thereby triggering a chain reaction. Two types of responses correspond to the two most common uranium isotopes — uranium-238 and uranium-235.

The first absorbs several neutrons before splitting, while the second requires just one neutron to initiate fission.

«NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS» CAN BE AVOIDED

According to Zheng, when people encounter rumors, their decision to immediately spread them is influenced by personal interests. Sometimes, repeated exposure is necessary for dissemination. In Zheng’s model, a neutron passing through uranium represents a rumor, while uranium-238 and uranium-235 nuclei correspond to two types of reactions.

In the first case, a person interacts with the rumor multiple times before passing it on. In the second case, the rumor is instantly transmitted upon first encounter. Drawing on the different thresholds for uranium fission, the researchers categorized people into groups based on the influence of their interests, considering behavioral differences and other factors.

The physicists claim their model adequately describes the process of rumor formation and spread. They note that while it resembles a nuclear reaction, gossip spreads slowly in its initial stages. This means that the «nuclear explosion» of misinformation can be halted at an early phase.

Original Research: