PageRank model of opinion formation on social networks

Abstract: We propose the PageRank model of opinion formation and investigate its rich properties on real directed networks of Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, LiveJournal and Twitter. In this model the opinion formation of linked electors is weighted with their PageRank probability. We find that the society elite, corresponding to the top PageRank nodes, can impose its opinion to a significant fraction of the society. However, for a homogeneous distribution of two opinions there exists a bistability range of opinions which depends on a conformist parameter characterizing the opinion formation. We find that LiveJournal and Twitter networks have a stronger tendency to a totalitar opinion formation. We also analyze the Sznajd model generalized for scale-free networks with the weighted PageRank vote of electors.