Rumors are social phenomena that spread quickly and widely. They are often spread face to face or via mobile phone, and can be either true or false. They are a form of gossip, and their sources can be anonymous or clearly partisan. The most important thing to understand about rumors is that they do not necessarily originate from a person.
The word rumor is derived from the Latin word rumorem, which means “noise”. Rumors often consist of ambiguous or questionable statements, and are spread by different audiences for different reasons. In this way, they can be true, false, or semi-true.