A Study on the Influence of Opinion Leaders in Network Public Opinion of Public Emergencies in Universities Based on SNA

[Aim] Network public opinions in colleges and universities are predominantly disseminated through the mediums of students, teachers, and staff. These opinions are often susceptible to subjective biases, uncritical acceptance, and emotional reactions. Opinion leaders frequently play a pivotal role in steering the direction of public opinion. This paper will examine the influence of opinion leaders in shaping online public opinions, with a particular focus on the “Tongji University Pork Sashimi” incident as a case study. [Method] Based on sentiment lexicon analysis of sentiment tendencies in comments, and using social network analysis methods, a network topology diagram was created using the network visualization software Gephi. The relationship between disseminators in online public opinion was studied from three dimensions: network density, network centrality, and cohesive subgroups. [Conclusion] The interactivity among online disseminators in this event was found to be low, resulting in a weak overall correlation in public opinion communication. Five opinion leaders were identified as having a significant impact on the spread of online public opinion. The influence of these opinion leaders was analyzed from four perspectives, providing insights for the government and educational institutions on managing unexpected incidents of online public opinion in universities.