A rumor is an unverified piece of information that spreads rapidly in a social network. It is sometimes referred to as gossip or hot news. Rumors are often wrong and can cause people to panic. In some cases, rumors even cause people to take action based on incorrect information. These actions may include buying a particular product or avoiding a certain area. In the age of the Internet, rumors are more widespread than ever before. It is important to understand how rumors are disseminated and how they can be corrected.
A major factor in rumor generation is the lack of communication between managers and employees. If management does not communicate changes in the workplace, lower-level employees will rely on the grapevine to fill in the gaps. This is especially true if the information being shared by management is negative. For example, if management announces that it is going to lay off some employees, the lower-level employees will assume that they are also at risk. As a result, they will spend their time preparing for the worst and not concentrating on their work. This will lead to less productivity and a decline in morale.
Another reason why rumor is so common is that many employees are not able to distinguish between information from a reliable source and a rumor. This problem is compounded by the fact that most of the information in social networks is retweeted rather than directly from a trusted source. When the retweets are inaccurate, they can spread at a much faster rate than accurate information.
In the case of a rumor, it is crucial to resolve the issue as soon as possible. This can be done by identifying the source of the rumor, verifying it and then correcting the information. This can help reduce the impact of the rumor and prevent it from spreading further.
When a rumor is spread, the individuals involved in the spreading process can be classified into different groups based on their personality traits. There are radicals, who are more likely to believe a rumor than others and then spread it, and there are steady and calm people, who are more apt to contemplate the rumor and seek confirmation.
A recent study found that the veracity status of a rumor is determined by its context. This includes the credibility of the rumor, its relevance to people’s lives and the likelihood that it will be disseminated. Researchers have also shown that a rumor’s status can be resolved by comparing the incoming information to what is already known.
The study examined retweet networks of tweets containing rumors that are either true, false or unverified. The authors then identified the tweets that were retweeted and used them to calculate the rumor’s diffusion. In addition, the journalists annotated the tweets for evidentiality, which refers to the type of evidence that is attached to the rumor. The evidence can be in the form of (1) a first-hand experience, (2) a link to an accessible source, (3) a quote from a trusted individual or organization, (4) reasoning and (5) no evidence at all.