There is Something Beyond the Twitter Network

Abstract: How information spreads through a social network? Can we assume, that the information is spread only through a given social network graph? What is the correct way to compare the models of information flow? These are the basic questions we address in this work. We focus on meticulous comparison of various, well-known models of rumor propagation in the social network. We introduce the model incorporating mass media and effects of absent nodes. In this model the information appears spontaneously in the graph. Using the most conservative metric, we showed that the distribution of cascades sizes generated by this model fits the real data much better than the previously considered models.