Rumor is a simple and widespread human activity that can spread quickly due to social media and word-of-mouth. Some rumors cause panic and have a significant impact on society (for example, the rumor that nuclear radiation from the Fukushima disaster would pollute salt caused people to rush out and purchase large quantities of the substance). Others are harmless and amusing but nevertheless spread widely (for instance, the rumor that a celebrity is getting a divorce because she and her husband slept together in her hotel room).
Foundational research on rumors and rumoring (Allport & Postman 1947, Peterson & Gist 1951) describes how rumors often change over time through a process known as sharpening (adding or enhancing specific details to make the story more compelling) and leveling (removing or reducing certain elements to make the story less complex). In online environments, participation can also occur in the form of adding new evidence (e.g., a voter posting their own voting experiences that align with a rumor’s claims), providing interpretations of evidence (e.g., a statistician interpreting vote count data), connecting and synthesizing related rumors into broader narratives (e.g., linking a rumor about voting issues in one location to larger claims of fraud), adapting a rumor’s core claims to conflicting evidence, and correcting false claims (Granovetter 1973).
Personality can have a big impact on the success of a rumor. Some individuals are prone to being radical and easily believe what they hear, while others are steady and calm and tend to contemplate and seek confirmation before spreading a rumor.
During times of uncertainty, like during an election, rumors may be more likely to take off because they prey on anxieties or concerns. For example, if a rumor spreads that the results of a particular election will have a huge impact on someone’s life, this can trigger a lot of anxiety and strategic attention on that part of the election process.
The success of a rumor can also be determined by how easy it is to disprove. If a rumor can’t be proven to be untrue, it will lose credibility and will not spread very far.
If a rumor is plausible and makes sense, it can become extremely popular. This is because people want to see celebrities do well or are excited about a new movie. In addition, if the rumor involves a celebrity, people can be motivated by jealousy to spread it in order to bring down their image. Finally, a rumor can spread simply because a large number of people want it to be true. This is the case with a rumor that suggests a celebrity has had sex with another celebrity.