On the control of opinion dynamics in social networks

This paper presents a framework to analyze the controllability of opinion dynamics in social networks using DeGroot model (DeGroot, 1974). We show how the opinion, or attitude about some common questions of interest in a population can be controlled by a committed node who consistently proselytizes the opposing opinion and is immune to influence. Some criteria are established to guarantee that opinion dynamics of networks can be perfectly or partially controlled. We also find that the opinion fluctuation is determined by the smallest negative eigenvalue of an influence matrix. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.