Rumor is a fabricated or false story that spreads from person to person in a way similar to the way communicable diseases spread. It can influence the behavior of crowds, for good or ill, often in ways that are unpredictable. For example, rumors about a celebrity visiting a small town can cause people to dress up or even to riot. Rumors are often based on hearsay (evidence not directly observed), and can be highly influential. They are also frequently inaccurate.
It is possible to tell the truth about some rumors, but others can never be verified. Whether the rumor is about a celebrity who stopped in your hometown, or about an event that will change your life forever, it’s important to know how to distinguish between fact and fiction.
The ability to instantly spread a rumor via social media is one of the biggest reasons that rumors have become so prevalent and influential in our lives. Rumors can spread so fast that they can impact the decisions of individuals, communities, and nations. While the truth about a rumor may eventually emerge, it can take time for people to react to that information. In the meantime, the damage a rumor does to individuals and groups can be significant.
While some people believe that rumors are not a big issue since the truth usually emerges, others feel that it is important to take action on rumors before their validity has been confirmed. For example, in Europe, a rumor that an image on social media was of a Syrian refugee caused people to support policies that would prevent refugees from entering the country. While the rumor was later verified as false, the damage had already been done.
There are several types of rumors, including positive (“pipe dream” rumors that reflect wished-for outcomes; e.g., Japan’s oil reserves are low and World War II will soon end) and negative (“bogie” rumors that reflect feared outcomes; e.g., enemy surprise attack is imminent) and wedge-driving rumors that seek to undermine group loyalty or interpersonal relations.
There are also different strategies that can be used to help control rumors, such as asking for evidence before spreading the information. Additionally, focusing on the type of support a rumor receives can be helpful in determining how serious a rumor is. This information can be gathered by looking at the hashtags associated with the rumor on Twitter. The information can also be analyzed by looking at the tone of the tweets and the use of words such as “report”, “confirm”, or “deny”. Lastly, researchers have worked on developing automated techniques to categorize evidence that supports a rumor and that denies it. This can be done using a variety of methods, such as counting the number of tweets that mention the rumor or quoting a source. The resulting data can be visualized in a timeline like the one shown in Figure 5.