DECISION-MAKING IN THE DIGITAL AGE: MISINFORMATION, POLARIZATION, AND THE ROLE OF NETWORKS AND AI
Access to this document is restricted. Some items have been embargoed at the request of the author, but will be made publicly available after the "No Access Until" date.
During the embargo period, you may request access to the item by clicking the link to the restricted file(s) and completing the request form. If we have contact information for a Cornell author, we will contact the author and request permission to provide access. If we do not have contact information for a Cornell author, or the author denies or does not respond to our inquiry, we will not be able to provide access. For more information, review our policies for restricted content.
This dissertation explores economic models of belief formation, strategic communication, and opinion dynamics in digital environments. I focus on three topics connected to persistent challenges in understanding polarization and misinformation online. Chapter I develops a theoretical and computational framework for how concerns over ideological consistency lead to self-censorship and the spread of polarization across different network structures, and explores these dynamics using simulations with AI-based agents. Chapter II presents an experimental study on fact-checking behavior, examining what motivates individuals to verify information and how fact-checking shapes belief accuracy. Chapter III studies the interaction between media bias and expert influence on social networks, using computational models to evaluate how different intervention designs can counteract misinformation and shift aggregate opinions toward the true state.