When a rumor is told, it can change the life of its victim in many ways. It may have the effect of hurting a relationship, causing embarrassment or affecting career opportunities. It can also affect one’s social status or cause a lot of fear and anxiety. The rumor may be true or false and it can be about someone else or something they witnessed.
Traditionally, people would hear a rumor through the grapevine or word of mouth but now most rumors are spread through social media. This is making it easier to spread rumors and has led to more widespread effects. This is especially the case during crisis situations when rumors can have large impacts on society. In an experiment, sociologist Tamotsu Shibutani found that in the aftermath of the 2011 Japan earthquake, Twitter users were bombarded with rumors that rain during the cleanup might contain harmful chemicals. Shibutani and his colleagues then used a Twitter data set to examine how retweeting of early tweets reporting the rumor and later tweets confirming that the rumor was false could impact the diffusion of the rumour.
This experiment showed that the more the rumor was repeated, the more it was believed and how it became more believable over time. He also found that the rumor stayed alive for as long as there was interest in it. This shows the importance of rumor and why it is so important to manage it.
The process of a rumor changing can be illustrated by an experiment that Allport and Postman carried out. They had subjects tell the same rumor to four other people. When the story was passed to subject two they lost details and forgot some; by the time it reached the third person it had changed quite dramatically. This is what Allport and Postman called leveling, sharpening and assimilation, which means that the selection of certain details to transmit changes the overall meaning.
People who share a rumor will often want to believe it is true, as it may be of personal relevance or it may be in line with their own beliefs. However, the information they receive may not be factual and a simple internet search can often prove it to be untrue. This is why it is so important to understand the process of a rumor before sharing it.
The best way to stop a rumor is to avoid spreading unverified claims. If you see a friend on social media sharing an issue then it is a good idea to check with them before sharing. This can help to reduce the number of rumours that are shared. Another strategy is to not believe the rumor if it was shared by a stranger. Often, a stranger will only share a rumor if they agree with it and this can lead to more rumors being spread. This is why it is so important to only trust friends on social media. If you do have to share a rumor then be sure to cite sources in order to show that the rumour is correct.