Information diffusion and opinion change during the gezi park protests: Homophily or social influence?

Abstract

Growth in online, opinion-rich sources of information, such as social networking websites, microblogs, and discussion forums, makes it possible for information to spread and reach others more easily than ever. During social movements the diffusion of ideas on these online platforms, along with other factors, may influence users' decision of what to think or who to support. This paper develops a study to investigate the effects of homophily mechanism as it may impact individuals' opinions and, in particular how opinions about a certain event change over time through mimicry and conformity. In this paper we present a Twitter dataset of communication during the Gezi Park Protests that took place in Turkey in 2013. We also present preliminary results based on text analysis and future steps for testing the effects of homophily mechanism.