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Chapter 7
Have You Heard This? The Latest on Rumor
CHAPTER SUMMARY
The chapter opens with Norman Rockwell’s well-known painting The Gossips,
which depicts a chain of small-town citizens receiving and passing along a juicy
rumor. Then, students will go online and read an item on the rumor-debunking
site Snopes.com examining a widely circulated story that Kentucky Fried
Chicken no longer uses real chicken in its meals. Gregory Rodriguez of the Los
Angeles Times explains that rumors take root most easily when they agree with
our existing convictions. Next is a 1982 account by Sandra Salmans of how
Procter & Gamble struggled to dispel persistent stories that its trademark was a
symbol of devil worship. In a 1944 essay “A Psychology of Rumor,”
psychologist Robert H. Knapp creates a framework for examining the human
emotions that underlay rumors swirling during World War II.
In the second half of the chapter, Alan Glenn explains how in 1969 a college
journalist fueled the rumor of Beatle Paul McCartney’s death. Case studies by
Richard H. Davis (available online) and Samuel G. Freedman illustrate how
smear campaigns and unsubstantiated rumors threatened the hopes of presidential
candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. In the next reading, Nicholas
DiFonzo explores the positive, perhaps even necessary, aspects of rumor creation
in his book chapter “How Rumors Help Us Make Sense of an Uncertain World.”
Then, legal scholar Cass R. Sunstein describes how false information “cascades,”
gathering believers the way a rolling snowball gathers snow. Subsequently,
corporate communications experts John Doorley and Helio Fred Garcia offer
specific rules for business leaders who need to manage rumors that erupt into the
news cycle. Last, in his short story “The Rumor,” John Updike (available online)
explores the ripples created in a straight couple’s relationship by a rumor that the
husband is gay.
Video supplements that correspond to several of the readings are listed at the end
of this IM chapter.
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TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
You might begin this chapter by asking students what rumors they have heard
recently around campus, in their circle of friends, or in politics, entertainment, or
sports. Select a few examples and ask the students who volunteered to discuss the
rumor in greater depth. Did he or she hear only one version of the rumor, or
multiple versions? Has the rumor been confirmed or disproved yet? Also ask how
much real, factual information was available on the topic at the time and why
such a rumor may have arisen. Finally, was the rumor harmful or helpful to those
involved—the people who initiated, heard, and shared the rumor, and those at the
center of the story?
The Gossips (p. 217)
NORMAN ROCKWELL
SUMMARY/TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
Ask students what narrative is being told in this painting. (One interpretation:
Fourteen people, presumably residents of a small town, take turns spreading a
rumor. The fifteenth person, who is the subject of the rumor, is indignant and
tells off the troublemaker who began the story.) Then ask students to guess what
the rumor might be about, and to point to evidence in the painting that supports
their guesses.
Frankenchicken (p. 219)
SNOPES.COM
SUMMARY
When the fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name to KFC,
rumors spread that the restaurants had replaced real chicken with a scientifically
mutated creature that was cheaper to produce. Snopes.com, a website devoted to
debunking rumors and urban legends, demonstrates that this deception is
impossible. Snopes attributes the rumors to concern over genetically modified
foods.
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TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
Ask students how many of them regularly eat at a fast-food chain. Then ask what
they’ve read or heard about these chains regarding the quality of the food, the
nutritional value, and what fast-food corporations might be doing to keep costs
down and make their products more profitable.
While you’re working with this selection, encourage students to do further
reading at Snopes.com, where they can find myths and misinformation related to
their interests and academic fields.
ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. As this rumor spread, some of the details offered as evidence helped
make it seem rooted in reality. For example, claiming that the University
of New Hampshire had performed a study of KFC gave the rumor an air
of academic credibility. And to many, the company’s name change was
additional evidence of the rumor’s truth.
2. The supporting evidence underlying this rumor reflects what some may
view as corporate trickery. The name change suggests a company
presenting “facts” in a technically accurate, though publicly deceptive
manner. And for many who contend that the mistreatment of animals is
accepted practice in the food industry, it wasn’t much of a stretch to
imagine the breeding of beakless, featherless, small-boned chickens for
fast-food customers.
3. Allowing KFC to change the essential nature of its food offerings, under
cover of a cosmetic name change, suggests a government less concerned
with public health than with protecting the fast-food industry.
4. The public is becoming ever more aware of and concerned by scientific
developments in the manipulation of genetic codes and, consequently, of
newer versions of genetically engineered foods. With such concerns
becoming integrated into public discourse, the idea of a company selling
genetically altered fast-food chicken may not seem out of the question.
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Truth Is in the Ear of the Beholder (p. 220)
GREGORY RODRIGUEZ
SUMMARY
Rodriguez asserts that rumors take hold only when they agree with our existing
beliefs. Rumors that strike a chord of truth can’t easily be dislodged by facts and
rational explanations. He points to a 1994 study that showed that financial
insecurity can make people more susceptible to believing rumors, as well as a
2004 study that indicated that political leanings can influence a person’s
receptivity to new information.
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
Before discussing the piece, determine how many of your students are in military
service or are veterans, and how many have served or have friends serving in
Iraq. Ask them what they take to be the rationale for the United States’
involvement in Iraq. Elicit multiple perspectives from the class about the
necessity for the U.S. presence in Iraq and its causes.
ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Studies indicate that people don’t process information in a neutral manner.
Instead, we fit new information into a mental framework of our pre-existing
beliefs and needs, a process Rodriguez refers to as “biased assimilation.”
2. In the 1994 study discussed in this article, neither education nor occupation
was found to be relevant. Instead, general uncertainty and insecurity about
employment were major factors in the way people process rumors.
3. In his famous 1944 study of rumor, Knapp found that rumors “express and
gratify the emotional needs” of a community during stressful times.
Likewise, the 1994 study also found that the emotional responses of fear and
anxiety were major factors in the spread of rumors.
4. Researchers discovered that political leanings dramatically affected
participant responses to the claims of WMD in Iraq. On being told that Iraq
did not, in fact, have weapons of mass destruction (when government
officials initially claimed that there were such weapons), conservatives (who
supported the war) were more likely to believe that despite what they were
told, Iraq did indeed have such weapons.
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Fighting That Old Devil Rumor (p. 223)
SANDRA SALMANS
SUMMARY
For Procter & Gamble, lawsuits and a public relations campaign could not
completely dispel rumors linking their moon-and-stars logo to devil worship. The
stories began in 1980, two years before this article was published, and calls and
letters to the company swelled to 15,000 per month. Both churches and rival
consumer-goods companies appeared to be perpetuating the rumors.
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
Before students read anything about the selection, have them respond to the
Procter & Gamble logo purely as a visual text. Ask students to give a quick first
reaction to the symbols and what they might signify. Then ask them to volunteer
what they know about Procter & Gamble, its history, and its products. (Current
P&G brands they might be familiar with include Cover Girl, Gillette, Crest,
Scope, Safeguard, Old Spice, Pampers, Swiffer, Tide, Febreze, Duracell, and
NyQuil.)
ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. The image allegedly supporting P&G’s satanism actually depicts the man in
the moon, along with thirteen stars representing the original thirteen colonies.
2. When viewed in a mirror, the curls in the man’s beard appear to form a
“666,” a number traditionally representing the devil.
3. While the company sought a legal resolution to the rumor, the lawsuits were
also an opportunity to get the truth out. As William Dobson, of P&G’s public
relations department, said, the lawsuits were “a very hardnosed way to
generate publicity.”
4. As the rumor was sparking boycotts from religious groups, Smale reached
out to local clergy and other religious figures, hoping that their involvement
might more effectively reach congregations.
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A Psychology of Rumor (p. 227)
ROBERT H. KNAPP
SUMMARY
The head of rumor control for the Massachusetts Committee on Public Safety,
writing during World War II, classifies the rumors that develop in wartime and
the emotions that underlie them: hope, fear, and hostility. Knapp’s theories have
proved enduring; his work is cited in Gregory Rodriguez’s 2009 article earlier in
this chapter.
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
Before having students read the selection, ask them whether their view of the
potential harmfulness of rumor changes when their country is at war. In wartime,
should people have different standards for passing along the information they
hear? And what kinds of information should be shared or kept to oneself?
ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Knapp identifies three basic characteristics of rumors: First, they have a
distinct mode of transmission (during the time that Knapp wrote, mostly by
word of mouth). Second, they provide “information” that may or may not be
true. Third, rumors satisfy an emotional need.
2. Knapp classifies rumors, according to the emotional needs of those who
originate and spread them, into three types: the pipe-dream rumor, the bogie
rumor, and the wedge-driving rumor.
3. With the passage of time, rumors take on the qualities of folk ballads and tall
tales through the addition of a humorous twist, insertion of striking detail,
deletion of qualifications, simplification of plot, assumption of a more
familiar form, and exaggeration.
4. As rumors spread throughout different areas, circumstances, and populations,
the “facts” may remain the same, but the names, numbers, and places
frequently change.
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“Paul Is Dead!” (Said Fred) (p. 231)
ALAN GLENN
SUMMARY
When assigned to review the Beatles’ Abbey Road album, University of
Michigan student Fred LaBour chose instead to perpetuate a hoax about one of
the band’s members. He began to compile bogus evidence of Paul McCartney’s
death, which soon spread nationwide.
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
If you have Beatles fans (or Paul McCartney fans) in the class, have them talk a
bit about the band and its influence. Play the students some cuts from Abbey
Road, including the notorious backwards messages.
ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. While students on campus may have been discussing the rumor already, as
indicated by the talk show phone calls LaBour heard on the radio, putting the
story into print pushed it to the forefront of public awareness and gave it
added credibility. In addition, LaBour offered numerous “clues” and specific
details, lending an appearance of truth to the rumor.
2. As Glenn points out, the clues were “enigmatic,” often providing a
“Rorschach test” for readers. They were specific enough to appear real, but
open-ended enough to make deciphering the rumor an active, engaging
experience for readers.
3. Finding his story suddenly at the forefront of campus discussions and,
ultimately, on the national stage, LaBour saw at firsthand the velocity and
scope with which a celebrity-based rumor can spread.
4. Before the television special taped, LaBour told celebrity attorney F. Lee
Bailey that he made up most of the details in the rumor. Bailey responded,
“Well, we have an hour of television to do. You’re going to have to go along
with this,” a comment indicating the difference in commercial value between
rumor as journalistic pursuit and rumor as pure entertainment.
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POLITICAL SMEAR RUMORS: TWO CASE STUDIES
In Untruths About Obama, Echoes of a Distant Time (p. 237)
SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN
SUMMARY
Freedman demonstrates similarities between rumors that Barack Obama is a
Muslim (and therefore has ties to terrorists) and rumors that 1928 presidential
candidate Alfred E. Smith, a Catholic, would be controlled by the Vatican.
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
Before having students read the selection, ask them if they know Obama’s
religion. If any students say that he is a Muslim, ask them to explain where they
got the information.
The Anatomy of a Smear Campaign: The Case of John McCain (p. 239)
RICHARD H. DAVIS
SUMMARY
When John McCain was favored over George W. Bush to win the Republican
presidential nomination, anonymous pollsters promoted the notion that he had
fathered an illegitimate child with a black woman. In fact, the daughter is a
Bangladeshi girl McCain and his wife, both white, legally adopted.
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
Ask students what assumptions people might make when they see a parent with a
child of another race. Why are people sometimes suspicious or offended when
they see a multiracial family? How might these attitudes become an obstacle for
someone running for public office?
ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. The McCain rumor spread so briskly due to “push polling.” Using this
technique, a “pollster” calls a potential voter, asking leading questions meant
to instill doubt in a candidate through insinuation and rumor planting.
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2. The McCain camp decided against responding so as not to give the rumor
more attention than it had already received and so as not to appear to give
credence to claims they viewed as “tawdry.”
3. Much like the Al Smith campaign 80 years earlier, the rumors about Obama
represented a general fear of “the other.” In Smith’s time, the “other” was the
Catholic (when the majority of voters were Protestants) as well as the
immigrant, the foreigner. In Obama’s time, the “other” was the Muslim,
follower of a faith associated in many voters’ minds with fanatical antiAmericanism and with the 9/11 attacks.
4. Freedman points out an important difference between the Smith and Obama
rumors. In his time, Smith was attacked for what he actually was, a Catholic.
The opposite was true in 2008: Obama was attacked for being a Muslim,
even though he was and is a Christian.
How Rumors Help Us Make Sense of an Uncertain World (p. 240)
NICHOLAS DIFONZO
SUMMARY
Rumors are valuable as a form of “shared sensemaking” when people are going
through uncertain times. DiFonzo defines rumors as unverified information
statements that circulate in situations that appear to pose a threat. Rumors may
help people to understand a situation better or take positive action.
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
Rumors have a bad reputation (as does gossip). Before students read the
selection, ask them what might be good or healthy about rumors. Can a rumor
ever contribute to a positive outcome?
ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. DiFonzo’s four characteristics of rumors: (1) they consist of information
statements; (2) they circulate; (3) the information in these statements is
considered important; and most importantly, (4) the statements are not
verified.
2. Whether a rumor is verified or unverified depends on the stance of the
messenger. If the sender acknowledges that the information may or may not
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be true, the rumor is unverified. Verified rumors are shared as fact, whether
or not they are actually true.
3. Rumor provides an opportunity to make sense of sometimes difficult
situations, providing a needed coping mechanism. DiFonzo offers numerous
examples of this phenomenon, including the stories surrounding a deadly car
accident, an auto plant closing, and the various rumors related to the events
on September 11, 2001.
4. Wedge-driving rumors are negative stories about rival groups, often used to
justify pre-existing generalizations. DiFonzo’s examples include false rumors
about African American crime in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and New
Jersey state troopers exhibiting racist behavior that resulted in a child’s
death.
5. “The Messenger” is the individual who brings a rumor to a particular group.
“Postures” reflect the various roles individuals may play in rumor
transmission.
Rumor Cascades and Group Polarization (p. 255)
CASS R. SUNSTEIN
SUMMARY
People are more likely to believe a rumor when many others believe it, a
phenomenon Sunstein calls a cascade. People may do this because they have
very little information on a topic and clutch at informational straws, or because
they wish to conform to a group’s beliefs. People might even put aside their own
more accurate knowledge in favor of what others have accepted.
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
Ask students to recall times they’ve publicly agreed with someone just to be
polite or not make waves, as well as times that they’ve passed along information
they weren’t sure was correct. What kinds of opinions have they agreed with?
Did they look back and wish they had spoken up? Is it possible that they
contributed to a problem without meaning to?
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ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Sunstein discusses three types of cascades. Informational cascades operate by
sheer volume: once a certain number of people who believe a rumor reaches
critical mass, others are likely to believe it too, unless they have good reason
not to. Conformity cascades operate when people, sometimes against their
better judgment, are pressured to agree with other members of their group
who accept the rumor as fact. Group polarization occurs when groups of likeminded people deliberate among themselves, reinforcing their beliefs and
making them even more rigid and extreme, especially when pitted against
others who believe differently.
2. Sunstein asserts that the “basic dynamic” is simple: at a certain point, if
enough people believe a rumor, others will follow suit and the rumor will
continue to spread.
3. Giving in to “bandwagon diseases,” many doctors start blindly accepting
popular treatments and diagnoses. This may lead to entire groups of people,
or even generations, being treated based on cascade thinking, rather than on
individualized diagnoses.
4. Of the many videos available on YouTube, the most popular attract the most
new viewers. This “snowball” effect leads to already popular videos
becoming even more so, while the less-viewed sink into obscurity.
5. While many cascades carry false information, they can also convey valuable
truths, such as “the beliefs that the earth is round, that racial segregation is
wrong, that people should be allowed to engage in free speech, and that
democracy is the best form of government.”
6. False rumors spread by cascade can lead people to believe a possibly
damaging falsehood and influence them to hide their reservations about its
falsity.
7. Common sense might indicate that objective discussion of the merits of a
false rumor would help reduce its credibility. With group polarization,
however, deliberation among like-minded believers serves only to further
entrench the rumor.
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Managing Rumors (p. 265)
JOHN DOORLEY AND HELIO FRED GARCIA
SUMMARY
Are rumors unstoppable? Doorley and Garcia don’t think so. Drawing on a
formula that governs how a rumor spreads, these authors provide business leaders
with a timetable for either minimizing or clarifying rumors and thereby
controlling the company’s image.
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
Direct students to think about the last really interesting rumor they heard. Why
did they find it interesting or important? And did it contain definite information
or amorphous, shifting information with multiple possibilities? Lead students to
see that the importance of a situation, coupled with the ambiguity of the
information, creates the most powerful rumors.
ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. In referencing Allport and Postman’s theories, Doorley and Garcia explain
that rumor goes through the processes of leveling, sharpening, and
assimilation. Leveling involves the gradual elimination in later versions of
the rumor of details from the original rumor. Sharpening refers to the
selection of certain remaining key details for heightened attention and
elaboration. Assimilation refers to the receptivity of the minds of those
hearing or reading the rumor to those sharpened details, based on their habits,
interests, and inclinations.
2. The strength and scope of a rumor depends on its importance to the listener
and on the ambiguity of the evidence. The formula indicating the relationship
between these factors: R ≈ i × a. That is, the intensity of a rumor (R) varies
according to how important (i) the topic of the rumor is to the individuals
concerned, multiplied by the ambiguity (a) of the available evidence.
3. Considering the implications of each time frame, Doorley and Garcia set up
remedial actions for 45 minutes (after the outbreak of the rumor), six hours,
three days, and two weeks.
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The Rumor (p. 270)
JOHN UPDIKE
SUMMARY
Frank and Sharon, a straight married couple who run an art gallery in Manhattan,
become the victim of a rumor that Frank left Sharon for a man. Ultimately, the
rumor is cleared up and proved false, but not before creating subtle changes—
many of them positive—in Frank’s outlook and relationships.
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
Rumors having to do with sexuality and romance seem to travel the fastest: for
instance, that two people have gotten together or broken up, that someone is
cheating on his or her partner, or that someone who is in a straight relationship is
secretly gay. Ask students why they think this type of rumor is so powerful.
VIDEO LINKS
David Mamet’s Oleanna: Film Trailer
IMDB search terms: “oleanna mamet”
Monologue from Oleanna Performed by Alicia Raye
YouTube search terms: “oleanna mamet carol alicia raye”
