Preventing the Spread of Online Harms: Physics of Contagion across Multi-Platform Social Media and Metaverses

Abstract: We present a minimal yet empirically-grounded theory for the spread of online harms (e.g. misinformation, hate) across current multi-platform social media and future Metaverses. New physics emerges from the interplay between the intrinsic heterogeneity among online communities and platforms, their clustering dynamics generated through user-created links and sudden moderator shutdowns, and the contagion process. The theory provides an online `R-nought' criterion to prevent system-wide spreading; it predicts re-entrant spreading phases; it establishes the level of digital vaccination required for online herd immunity; and it can be applied at multiple scales.