Coupled Dynamics of Information-Epidemic Spreading Under the Influence of Mass Media in Metapopulation Network

During public health emergencies, individuals typically obtain epidemic-related information through mass media channels and personal social media platforms. This information enables them to monitor epidemic progression and adjust their preventive behaviors accordingly to mitigate infection risks. To capture these processes, this paper proposes a three-layer coupled metapopulation network model that investigates the effects of regional mass media and social information propagation on the spatial spread of epidemic. The mass media layer represents regional outlets that propagate epidemic-related information to individuals within corresponding patches. Migrant individuals not only follow mass media information of the residential patch, but also continue to follow mass media information from their destination patch. The information layer captures the dynamics of information exchange on social media platforms. The epidemic layer depicts the spread of the epidemic within the metapopulation network and simulates the reaction-diffusion dynamics of migrating individuals across different patches through a Migration-Interaction-Return (MIR) mechanism; the coupling between the information layer and the epidemic layer is asymmetric. Theoretical analysis using the Microscopic Markov Chain Approach (MMCA) derives the evolution equation and determines the epidemic thresholds, while Monte Carlo (MC) simulations validate the model and explore factors influencing propagation dynamics. Our research indicates that when migrants simultaneously receive mass media information from both residential and destination patches, it significantly enhances information coverage and promotes protective behaviors, thereby effectively suppressing epidemic spread. Furthermore, promoting information propagation—particularly the communication among individuals within a patch—significantly increases the proportion of aware individuals, reduces the infection scale, and raises the epidemic threshold. Notably, population migration would originally lead to an increase in infection scale, but as the intensity of information propagation strengthens, migration instead has a good effect on controlling epidemic spread. These results provide deeper insights into the role of awareness propagation and human mobility in epidemic containment.