Structure of Network Communities of social Media in the Information Flow of External Pressure in Crimea

The article discusses modern ideas about the structure of interaction, the role of leaders of public opinion in social networks of digital communications. The object of the study is the social media community that generates information flows and promotes the agenda of the Crimea joining the Russian Federation. Empirical data were obtained as a result of monitoring social media using the methods of social graphs and cognitive mapping. An analysis of the information flows of the Crimean agenda showed that the structure of most of the communities generating them is deprived of leaders of public opinion and is based on the heated topic of the conflict. At the same time, the presence of opinion leaders in user groups contributes to an increase in the number and activity of communities but does not ensure their unity. Social network communities focused on the formation of anti-Russian attitudes of Crimean users have a low density of interaction, which does not allow qualifying as structured and mass movements. In the groups of the pro-Russian segment, larger-scale and stable interconnections in the communities were noted, which shows their higher potential for informational counteraction. Most of the users who make up the community are viewers, consuming thematic content. The presence of intersections of the audiences of the pro-Russian and anti-Russian communities indicates both a weak difference in content and unstable user attitudes.

network communities, community structure, opinion leaders, social media, the reunification of Crimea with Russia, information flows, information confrontation

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