In a knowledge dissemination environment, where knowledge entities are disconnected, it is more likely for contributors to create knowledge entities that were previously produced by other contributors. This is due to the disconnectedness of the knowledge entities, which makes it very difficult to identify the related entities that were previously added to the system.

Disconnected knowledge entities --> Duplicate knowledge entities

There is a range of information duplication and overlap that occurs due to the nature of stand-alone knwoledge entities and how they are produced. Because stand-alone knowledge entities are self-contained pieces of information, they will often use information used in other knowledge entities to contextualize their subject. This is a weak form of knowledge entity duplication because it is not a direct copy of other knowledge entities. Rather, they often summarize or paraphrase information covered in other knowledge entities causing an overlap of content. However, in some cases information can be duplicated in its entirety. 

Duplicate and Overlapping Knowledge Entities in Stand-Alone Learning Content

- Disconnected Knowledge Entities
- Stand Alone Learning Content

San Jose State University

There is a significant amount of information available across various mediums such as articles, books, websites, and videos, but many of them merely repeat the existing knowledge already available in other sources, and cover the same topic. This does not mean that the media is a 100% copy of another, but the topic of the two knowledge entities is the same.

Duplicate knowledge entities in Online Communities

- Content quality control
- Limit resource cost
- Limit conflicts among users
- Protect Reputation

Why do online communities discourage generation of duplicate entries?

Causes of Dupicate Knowledge Entities in Online Communities 

Duplicate knowledge entities can be used to create an illusion of credibility, where false or misleading information is repeated enough times that it becomes accepted as true. This may create the perception of consensus and credibility around false or misleading claims. This is particularly problematic in the case of disinformation, where the intent is to intentionally deceive or manipulate an audience.

Duplicate knowledge entities --> Vulnerability to Misinformation and Disinformation in Online Communities

- Stack Overflow
- Quora
- Reddit
- Wikipedia
- etc

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