Characterizing poor quality context specific content on online social media

Abstract

In social psychology, a rumor is defined as a story or statement in general circulation without confirmation or certainty to facts. Rumors are known to arise in the context of ambiguity, when the meaning of a situation is not readily apparent or when people feel an acute need for security. Rumors hence are a powerful, pervasive, and persistent force affecting people and groups. Popular online social sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Bebo, have become some of the major news sources as well as the most effective channels for viral marketing nowadays. However, alongside these promising features comes the threat of misinformation propagation which can lead to undesirable effects. This threat is significant because the OSNs have greatly facilitated and accelerated information diffusion processes which makes them a fertile ground for the spread of fake news, misinformation, rumors and hoaxes. The goal of this work is to find characteristics of such rumors on online social media so that they can be possibly identified early in the process.