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Modelling the Structure of Protest Movement Advocacy in Social Media Using Graph and Neural Network Analysis

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Science and Global Challenges of the 21st Century - Science and Technology (Perm Forum 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems ((LNNS,volume 342))

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Abstract

The use of social media to propagate protest sentiments and mobilise users to take part in active political actions is not only of academic interest but also of practical interest. Countering the propaganda of protest sentiments in social networks is one of the most important tasks to ensure the security of the state and the well-being of citizens. In this article we proposed an approach to model the structure of protest movement propaganda on the basis of users’ social roles, proposed the notion of “Social role of a social network user”, described the meaning of users’ social roles as the elements of purposeful impact model on the social network, presented a review of existing methods to identify user roles, and briefly described our own method of identifying user roles based on analysis of their social relations graphs. We also give a review of methods for identifying the most influential users and describe our method. The structure of VKontakte social network users involved in the protest movement is presented based on the example of propaganda and protest actions around the so-called “Putin’s palace” in the period from 19 to 31 January 2021. It offers a brief analysis of this framework, highlighting the importance of users as bridges between individual communities and the core of the protest movement network, providing for greater audience reach and resilience to blocking effects. Key areas for further research were identified.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SEUSLAB LLC, Shosse Kosmonavtov street 111, korpus 3, of. 302, 614066, Perm, Russia

    Eugeny G. Ashikhmin & Eugeny A. Rabchevskiy

  2. Perm State Universitet, 15 Bukirev Street, 614068, Perm, Russia

    Andrey N. Rabchevskiy

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  1. Andrey N. Rabchevskiy
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  2. Eugeny G. Ashikhmin
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  3. Eugeny A. Rabchevskiy
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Correspondence to Andrey N. Rabchevskiy .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. ISEG, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    Alvaro Rocha

  2. Perm State University, Perm, Russia

    Ekaterina Isaeva

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Rabchevskiy, A.N., Ashikhmin, E.G., Rabchevskiy, E.A. (2022). Modelling the Structure of Protest Movement Advocacy in Social Media Using Graph and Neural Network Analysis. In: Rocha, A., Isaeva, E. (eds) Science and Global Challenges of the 21st Century - Science and Technology. Perm Forum 2021. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 342. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89477-1_1

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