How A Rumor Spreads

A rumor is a social phenomenon that needs at least one person to create and spread it and many others to modify and transmit it. So understanding how a rumor spreads is key to avoiding them .

Much of the conversations that we have on a daily basis are plagued with exchanges of rumors. E l canard is immersed in society. In fact, its fleeting quality is due to the fact that it tries to hide itself under the guise of true information.

Thus, the veracity of the rumor is usually in doubt or rather, cannot be corroborated. The usual thing is that they are generated and transmitted through word of mouth, although it is true that sometimes they can also be spread by the media.

Rumors often arise to condition people’s thinking or behavior for a specific purpose. Although, at least at first, its veracity cannot be confirmed, the comments do not take long to spread . This is because they are often shocking or controversial.

For example, a large company may launch rumors about the financial situation of a competitor. This would create insecurity among customers and workers, in order to create an adverse climate and harm your competitor .

Characteristics of the rumor

Before delving into how a rumor spreads, we will explain  what its main characteristics are to properly understand this phenomenon and all that it entails.

Public interest

The rumor must have a certain degree of public interest . Otherwise no one would bother to transmit it, nor would they waste time listening to it and therefore, it would soon be forgotten.

For it to have a greater impact, the message that is transmitted must be short, simple and relevant to the receiver. This concept is key to understanding how a rumor spreads.

Your goal is to convince

A rumor pretends to be accepted as an explanation. Your goal is to convince. It is transmitted to be believed, and for that reason, it is shielded in the authority of the one who communicates it, who in turn demands to trust its truthfulness.

On the other hand, the original source of the rumor is usually attributed to someone important to make it as truthful as possible. 

Information is not verified

As we said before, the information that is transmitted with a rumor has not been verified. In this way, we settle for the belief that the source is reliable.

The approach we make to believe in a rumor is that not all the information we receive on a daily basis has been verified and verified; and still, in most cases they are correct .

The rumor as a probe balloon

Rumor can also be used from a position of power as a “probe balloon.” Before making an important decision, incomplete and concise information is thrown down so that it reaches the base and returns enriched with the opinions of the different levels of society .

For example, as a result of the strong economic crisis suffered in the last decade, many governments have launched messages of economic austerity and loss of workers’ labor rights, just to see the response of the population and how this decision would affect their voters. the time to raise elections.

How a rumor originates and transmits

There are certain basic conditions that cause the birth of a rumor. On the one hand, the content of the message that is transmitted must be characterized by its informative ambiguity and, on the other, that it immediately captures the attention of others.

If we decided to study how a rumor spreads and then create our own, the first thing to consider would be to  have a good story that captures the attention of the recipient . In addition, it is important to mix some truth with a little exaggeration, and later add as many details as we consider appropriate to give it truthfulness.

However, we cannot forget that in the transmission of the information new content will be added, others will become larger and some will be forgotten. In this way, the original message is modified. 

The transmission of the rumor

As a result of research by Allport and Postman, the following basic laws for the transmission of rumor were developed:

• Law of leveling : as the rumor is transmitted, it tends to shorten and become more concise. The omission of details is not accidental, but there is a certain predisposition to omit some details more than others.
• Accentuation law : consists of the selective perception, retention and narration of a limited number of details within a larger context. Some particular details are kept throughout the communication.

• Assimilation law : subjects reorganize the contents, giving them “good shape” according to their interests.

In conclusion, much of our daily conversations are made up of a lot of rumor-mongering . Everything from the moral behavior of a co-worker to the fate of the nation attracts the interest of interesting and disturbing rumors.

Thus, when exact and complete data on an issue are not available, rumors abound. Since these can completely ruin people’s reputations, discredit causes and undermine morale, their manipulation is used as an instrument of propaganda. However, if we are vigilant, we can detect them effectively .