The Psychology of Rumor, a 1947 work by William Stern, identifies four stages of rumor development: the introduction of the rumors, the volunteered information, the discussion of the rumors, and the spread of the rumors. Each stage contributes to the development of the rumor. A rumor can be easily defined by following these four stages. These stages are often followed in real life, but they are also highly variable.
The most important distinction between rumor and falsehood is the level of ambiguity. A person can make a rumor based on two different levels: the hoped-for consequences, and the expected consequences. In either case, the rumor strength is different. However, the basic law of rumor has its flaws. It is difficult to define a rumor’s strength without examining the emotional context.
A rumor bomb is an attempt to transfer public uncertainty to an opponent. The rumor bomb’s source is often anonymous, but the partisan can benefit from the diffusion of the rumor. In highly developed electronic-mediated societies, rumors can spread very rapidly, and even in the absence of a partisan source. So, while rumors are not necessarily harmful, they can be dangerous to an individual or an organization.
A rumor is a statement of uncertain truth that is disseminated by word-of-mouth. It may contain factual information, or may contain misinformation. A rumor can be a noun or a verb. For example, John is rumored to be the next person in line for the promotion. These are all examples of rumors. There are many types of rumors. Hopefully this article will help you make sense of these words.
As with any form of communication, a rumor can be either true or false. Often, a rumor involves statements of questionable veracity, such as a person’s affairs. There are also rumors about weapons of mass destruction. Whether they are true or false, the statements are ambiguous and can appeal to different audiences. Harsin builds on previous rumor research by Difonzio and Prashant and demonstrates that the social context of rumor affects the distribution of the rumors.