A rumor is an unsubstantiated, often false story that spreads from person to person in a community through word of mouth. It can influence crowd behavior for good or ill, and can even cause major incidents such as riots. Rumor can also have a significant impact on an organization’s reputation.
A major factor in the propagation of rumors is the amount of social support for the rumor. When a rumor is highly supported, it can gain momentum and be spread at a much faster rate. However, if the rumor is not supported, it will die out quickly. It is important for organizations to manage rumor to ensure that they are communicating accurate information to their employees and customers.
There are four main components to managing rumors. The first is anxiety (situational and personality). People who have higher levels of anxiety or a more anxious personality are more likely to create rumors in order to lift their anxieties. Another key factor in rumor is ambiguity. If there is too much ambiguity, it will be difficult for people to determine what is true or not. Finally, the importance of the information is also a major factor in rumor. If the information is juicy and interesting, it will be more likely to be spread.
The internet and the rapid development of mobile communication have made it possible for rumors to spread extremely fast. In addition, the Internet has changed the structure of societies by making it possible for everyone to be both a sender and a receiver of information. This makes rumors more powerful and difficult to control.
Rumor is a social phenomenon and has existed since the dawn of human history. In ancient times, rumors were mostly verbal and spread from person to person. Later, with the invention of writing, rumors could be written down and disseminated to larger groups of people. With the advent of electronic communication, rumors can now be sent to thousands of people at once.
It is a common misconception that rumors are merely trivial and non-serious, but this is not true. In fact, rumors can be quite serious and can affect the whole population of a country. They can even harm large corporations.
To understand how a rumor is spread, researchers used archived discussions about rumors from the Internet and other computer networks. The discussions were then coded for various statements including prudent, apprehensive, authenticating, interrogatory, sense-making, digressive, and belief. This allowed them to construct a model for how rumors are spread.
To spread a rumor, it is important to make sure that the story you tell seems believable. It is also important to leave a few pieces of evidence around, so that your target will be more likely to believe it. For example, if you are spreading a rumor that your target was eating dog food, leaving some of the food around may make it more believable. It is also important to limit the number of people that you share the rumor with. Too many people can spoil the effect and cause it to die out quickly.