docs: README and About copy for the tuned additive model

The idea table now shows 83/69/18 (the soft-program default) with a 'who you
teach matters more than how many' framing; the model section describes the
forwarding composite (baseline, raised by novelty, lowered by harm awareness)
and the soft education lever instead of the old fixed-rate / never-forward
wording. Background acknowledges the team's literature sourcing of the
parameters and frames this demo as the accessible layer of the funded
instrument (calibration, full parameters, optimisation). Preset About copy
updated to match.
This commit is contained in:
Justin Visser 2026-06-18 22:24:10 +02:00
parent 792c636354
commit 6b2cbd5728
2 changed files with 38 additions and 19 deletions

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@ -24,26 +24,34 @@ the *same* outbreak in the *same* simulated social network under different
education strategies, so the only thing that changes is who gets educated. education strategies, so the only thing that changes is who gets educated.
With the default world (120 students, educate 30% of them): With the default world (120 students, educate 30% of them):
| Strategy | Reached by the fake | | Strategy | Reached by the fake |
| -------------------------- | ------------------- | | ------------------------------ | ------------------- |
| No program | 82% | | No program | 83% |
| Educate 30% at random | 58% | | Educate 30% at random | 69% |
| Educate the 30% best-connected | 6% | | Educate the 30% best-connected | 18% |
Same budget, different targeting, an order-of-magnitude difference. Making Same budget, very different outcomes: educating at random barely dents the
that lever visible (and later: searching for the best intervention under a spread, while educating the best-connected students contains it to under a
budget) is the point of the tool. fifth of the school. Who you teach matters more than how many. Making that
lever visible (and later: searching for the best intervention under a budget)
is the point of the tool.
## How the model works ## How the model works
- **Network**: Holme-Kim preferential attachment with triangle closure - **Network**: Holme-Kim preferential attachment with triangle closure
(Holme & Kim, 2002), producing the hubs and clustered friend groups of (Holme & Kim, 2002), producing the hubs and clustered friend groups of
real social networks; a port of networkx's `powerlaw_cluster_graph`. real social networks; a port of networkx's `powerlaw_cluster_graph`.
- **Spread**: an independent cascade (Kempe, Kleinberg & Tardos, 2003); - **Spread**: an independent cascade (Kempe, Kleinberg & Tardos, 2003). Each
each directed edge gets one random forwarding draw, shared across all student's chance of forwarding is a literature-grounded composite: a baseline
scenarios, so strategies are compared in the same world. rate, raised by how novel or shocking the fake is, lowered by the year
- **Education lever**: an educated student still receives the fake but group's ambient harm awareness. Per-edge random draws are shared across all
never forwards it. Strategies: no program, uniform random, most-connected. scenarios, so strategies are compared in the same world. Because
deepfake-specific data are scarce, the parameters are sensitivity ranges
rather than fitted values, drawn from the project team's literature review.
- **Education lever**: the program cuts an educated student's forwarding
probability by its effect size (a strong but imperfect reduction, not a
perfect wall). Strategies pick who is educated: no program, uniform random,
or the most-connected students.
- **Determinism**: every source of randomness flows from seeds in the - **Determinism**: every source of randomness flows from seeds in the
config; identical configs produce identical results, pinned by tests. config; identical configs produce identical results, pinned by tests.
@ -138,6 +146,16 @@ Python prototype used in that project's pitch. The subject is handled from
the prevention side only: the tool models how harmful content spreads and the prevention side only: the tool models how harmful content spreads and
what education changes, nothing about creating such content. what education changes, nothing about creating such content.
The model's diffusion and education parameters were sourced by the project
team from open-access literature on misinformation spread, complex contagion,
peer aggression, and comprehensive sexuality education.
This public demo is the accessible, intuition-building layer of the proposed
research. The funded project would build the full instrument behind it:
calibrating the model to real-school data, incorporating the complete
literature parameter set, and searching for the best intervention under a
budget.
References: P. Holme & B. J. Kim, *Growing scale-free networks with tunable References: P. Holme & B. J. Kim, *Growing scale-free networks with tunable
clustering* (Phys. Rev. E 65, 2002). D. Kempe, J. Kleinberg & E. Tardos, clustering* (Phys. Rev. E 65, 2002). D. Kempe, J. Kleinberg & E. Tardos,
*Maximizing the spread of influence through a social network* (KDD 2003). *Maximizing the spread of influence through a social network* (KDD 2003).

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@ -13,12 +13,13 @@ export const deepfakeSchoolPreset: StudyPreset = {
disclaimerShort: 'Illustrative model, not validated', disclaimerShort: 'Illustrative model, not validated',
disclaimerLong: disclaimerLong:
'spreadlab runs a seeded agent-based toy simulation: a synthetic ' + 'spreadlab runs a seeded agent-based toy simulation: a synthetic ' +
'friendship network of one school year group, a fixed chance to forward ' + 'friendship network of one school year group, a chance to forward the ' +
'the fake along each friendship per round, and an education program that ' + 'fake along each friendship that rises with how novel it is and falls ' +
'teaches some students to refuse. Its parameters are chosen for ' + 'with the ambient harm awareness, and an education program that strongly ' +
'illustration, not fitted to data, so it is not a validated prediction ' + 'but imperfectly reduces forwarding for educated students. Its parameters ' +
'of any real school. Use it to build intuition about who to educate, ' + 'are illustrative sensitivity ranges, not fitted to data, so it is not a ' +
'not to forecast outcomes.', 'validated prediction of any real school. Use it to build intuition about ' +
'who to educate, not to forecast outcomes.',
readingCaption: readingCaption:
'Each dot is one student in the same simulated year group. Every scenario ' + 'Each dot is one student in the same simulated year group. Every scenario ' +
'runs the identical school; only the education program differs.', 'runs the identical school; only the education program differs.',