The finding comes from an examination of posts labeled controversial on social news aggregation site Reddit. To perform the study, the researchers analyzed more than 47,000 posts about cybersecurity in a Reddit dataset that was collected by the Computational Simulation of Online Social Behavior (SocialSim) program of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Researchers found that these posts were seen by nearly twice the number of people and traveled nearly twice as fast when compared to posts not labeled controversial. The findings were published recently in the .

Reddit is one of the most visited websites in the U.S. A post is labeled controversial by a Reddit algorithm if it receives a certain number of polarized views, or a moderator can label a post with any number of comments as controversial.

The posts analyzed in the study included topics that wouldn鈥檛 be considered traditionally controversial but were labeled as so by Reddit, such as a personal computer giveaway offer.

The research is important because it shows that disagreement may be a powerful way to get people to pay attention to messages, says study co-author Ivan Garibay, an associate professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 .

However, he advises caution to those inducing disagreement in their social media posts.

鈥淭here may be an incentive in terms of influence and audience size for a social media user to consistently include controversial and provocative topics on their posts,鈥� Garibay says. 鈥淭his benefits the person posting the messages. However, controversial comments can be divisive, which could contribute to a polarized audience and society.鈥�

Reddit鈥檚 definition of a controversial post, which tends to depend on increasing numbers of both likes and dislikes, is different than the traditional advertiser鈥檚 definition of a controversial post, which would contain truly provocative or taboo messaging, says Yael Zemack-Rugar, an associate professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 .

鈥淭o give this idea life, you may like a recent ad for Toyota, and I may not,鈥� Zemack-Rugar says. 鈥淭his will not make it controversial. But if the ad featured Colin Kaepernick, as the Nike ad did in 2018, after he recently refused to recite the national anthem during his games, now we are talking controversial. There is an underlying tone that is much deeper and more meaningful.鈥�

Reddit posts are also more akin to word-of-mouth communication since they are user generated and not paid advertising, she says.

The study鈥檚 findings are consistent with past research that has found that traditional controversy increases the spread of word of mouth and discussions online, especially when contributions are anonymous, as they somewhat are on Reddit, Zemack-Rugar says.

Of the more than 47,000 posts, approximately 23,000 posts were labeled controversial, and about 24,000 were noncontroversial.

The researchers found an association between controversially labeled comments and the collective attention that the audience paid to them.

For the controversial posts, there were more than 60,000 total comments, whereas for the noncontroversial posts, there were less than 25,000 total comments.

A network analysis examining the reach and speed of the posts, showed that nearly twice the number of people saw controversial content compared to noncontroversial content and that controversial content traveled nearly twice as fast.

The researchers limited posts in their analysis to those that had at least 100 comments.

Jasser Jasser, a doctoral student in 麻豆原创鈥檚 , and the study鈥檚 lead author, says the findings highlight the need to better understand why the content labeled in Reddit as controversial spreads.

鈥淭he next step in this work is to analyze the language used to induce such controversy and why it brings the attention of the social media users,鈥� Jasser says.

Study co-authors were Steve Scheinert, a senior solutions specialist with a professional services company and Alexander V. Mantzaris, an assistant professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 .

The study was funded with support from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Garibay received his doctorate in computer science from 麻豆原创. He joined 麻豆原创鈥檚 Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, part of 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Engineering and Computer Science, in 2016.

The bachelor鈥檚 in Data Science spans a variety of sub-disciplines within the greater field of data science, including mathematics, statistics, specialized programming and algorithm design. It also teaches students how to draw useful conclusions from data so businesses can make informed decisions.

The new degree becomes the third undergraduate degree offered by the Department of Statistics and Data Science, along with one in statistics and another in actuarial science. The department also offers a master鈥檚 with two tracks in data mining and statistical computing and a doctorate in big data analytics.

Students in the new degree will begin with the basic science behind data creation and extraction as a foundation, then move on to advanced topics such as machine learning, deep learning and natural-language processing. As participants build on this knowledge, department Chair Shunpu Zhang is hopeful the unique courses will challenge students as much as it allows them to think creatively.

鈥淲e鈥檙e offering students a modern degree in a field that is growing as quickly as it is evolving,鈥� he says.

The need is rising for data analysts who can create, adapt and use state-of-the-art tools to obtain insight from large and unstructured data sets and convert them into knowledge. Business-Higher Education Forum puts the demand at 2.72 million new jobs posted in 2020 requiring data science expertise.

Multiple departments at 麻豆原创 developed the degree to maximize utility and versatility, including computer sciences, industrial engineering and management systems, and mathematics. Some of the available courses include computer science and data analysis praxis. The degree鈥檚 heavy emphasis on physical and computational sciences is sure to interest students searching for training in multiple disciplines, says Zhang.

鈥淭his has been highly anticipated by students,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檝e had many students, undergraduate, doctoral鈥ll contacting me out of curiosity and excitement.鈥�

for the new program before the May 1 deadline.