The Science of Rumors: It's Pretty Nuclear and I'm Not Being Dramatic

Brian's World

Who would ever think that 'rumors' would have such a well-documented history? Well, I guess that actually does makes sense. The spreading of these weightless truths seem to be a natural extension of communication itself. There's a science behind everything and today we'll dive into the science of rumors.

Merriam-Webster defines rumor as "talk or opinion widely disseminated with no discernible source," or, "a statement or report current without known authority for its truth." Research revealed historic practice of rumor-spreading, dating all the way to the ancient romans and their goddess of rumors, Fame. "This goddess was represented as a woman always in motion, constantly shouting and spreading good and bad news," writes Crescimbene et al (2012). "This winged monster allegorically represented rumors that arise, spread, gain credibility, do not distinguish between truth and falsity, and amplify and distort the facts at will."

Centuries later, we find ourselves still tongue-tied with half truths. We used to play a game in school named 'Telephone', which practically prepared us for the swarm of rumor-spreading that awaited us in adulthood. It was an innocent game of whispering down the line but rumormongering as an adult and professional can be dangerous. They can cause mass-hysteria and in fact, rumors have fueled wars. In 1942, the American government saw the risks of these rumors and spearheaded rumor research under the "Rumor Project". Crescimbene et al continues, "To fight rumors that were deemed dangerous to civil morality and national security, the U.S. government decided to set up institutional committees; at the same time, social scientists began to study the phenomenon of rumors."

Rumors are the fabric of various public relations tactics, also. I often re-visit one of my favorite campaigns, The Torches of Freedom. It's the brainchild of PR-Guru and legend, Edward L. Bernays. He used the power of rumor to change the narrative surrounding women who smoke and turned the habit into a sign of equality for women (to men). It spread like wildfire and powered the tobacco industry.

Recent research separates the different types of rumors in an effort to focus on what's most important: the dangerous and deadly ones. Sure, we may spend a Friday night at the local pub, sharing a sports rumor, or two. That's nothing compared to sharing a rumor that causes public health emergencies, terrorist behavior, or war. "We should distinguish between rumor and gossip, as each appears to function differently in its pure state," writes Rosnow and Foster for the American Psychological Association. Gordon Allport and Leo Postman are hailed as two prominent rumor researchers and they took an early attempt at distinguishing the importance of rumors. They created the 'basic law of rumor', an equation that sounds promising (pretty sturdy title, you know?) but proved to be ineffective as researchers in the common-era discovered that the law ignored the emotional context of rumor.

Today, researchers spend their time understanding the different types of rumors by the person sharing it and the world around them. There are all sorts of clues in why they spread. Let's get to the bottom of it on Episode 174 and pledge to fight the deadly and dangerous ones.

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