Rumor

A rumor (Greek Pheme or PHAMA; Latin fama ), also on dit (French: they say ), is an untrusted message is always of general or public interest, to diffuse and mostly spread orally and their contents more or less strong undergoes changes.

• 2.1 Origin and distribution
• 2.2 rumors in folk tales

Demarcation

In this general sense the term is sometimes used synonymously with "gossip" and " urban legend ", in the case of skepticism or proven falsehood with " legend" or " fairy tale". In the strict sense of the term are in a Rumor - unlike the gossip - attributed to the narrated events are generally not individuals; in the modern Sage specific persons other hand, are in place, but are not mentioned by name. Strategically launched rumors in the politics of propaganda be attributed.

Related terms

• As a whispering campaign is called an operation in the most secret events are retold through the policies and so slowly among the population, and thus enter the public domain. This often occurs in totalitarian states dissemination of news can lead to rumors.
• Latrine are colloquially called derogatory rumors, most of which are misleading or false, and be secretly distributed. The word comes from the soldiers' language, as in barracks or other accommodation at the local septic tank or latrine all team levels for common drain met and where information is shared and then passed on. Synonyms are Latrinengerücht or coarse shithouse slogan.
• Room slogans denote stereotypical clichés of a local opinion and also include rumors.

Framework of the " rumor mill "

The rumor lives by the relationship, whether it is really true or untrue. Therefore, it arouses interest and attracts attention. Does it meet existing expectations ( fears, hopes, etc.), a rumor falls on a rich soil; it seems to provide guidance for moments.

A rumor also served social needs for closeness and understanding. By dividing a supposed mystery something like a community of knowers is briefly made ​​, strengthened on commonly shared feelings of schadenfreude, or moral outrage. In addition to strengthening existing informal norms.

Emergence and dissemination

A rumor arises when someone ( it can be called as originator of the rumor ) a statement of fact or a theory " in the world is ", so at least one third party expresses. Typical of a rumor there is a certain degree of dissemination. It depends on how often and how fast an average receiver retold the rumor. For example, an author tells a rumor two people. After exactly one hour, everyone tells the two in turn two on. Another hour later, 2 4 8 people know the rumor after 10 hours, there are already 2 4 8 16 32 64 128 256 512 1024 2048 = 4094. If everyone retold three, it is after 10 hours 3 9 27 81 243 729 2187 6561 19683 59049 = 88572nd

The statement of fact or argument may be true, half-true or untrue; one can distinguish between falsehood and falsehood ( in the former case, the author believes himself to his false statement in the second case not; possible motives to see a lie lie). The emergence of an untrue statement of fact or hypothesis is favored if the author has a strong subjectively colored perception, unstructured thinks presumptions of facts takes a misunderstanding not noticed if he is prone to conspiracy theories and / or if it has lower motives ( as such are eg schadenfreude, malice, envy, resentment (implies destructiveness ) ).

Rumors can be spread orally or in writing or redistribute (see also Expert ); also mass media can have. " Continue to tell " motives for can be a personal concern or a subjectively perceived novelty and sensation level.

It is sometimes asked when retelling a rumor the recipient, not weiterzuerzählen it and / or not to betray, by whom he has heard the rumor (confidentiality ). The narrator may have a legitimate interest in it. An example: X told Y end of 1941, the ( true ) rumor that the military situation in the battle of Stalingrad was far worse than claimed by the Nazi regime. Such a statement could the narrator 's life costs ( charges of undermining the war effort ).

Field experiments in which researchers deliberately brought rumors, revealed that are involved in the dissemination of rumors deforming certain individuals of a population to a particular degree. An important role in the credibility and authority. FC Bartlett ( 1932) was able to model the following trends of rumor formation using the method of reproduction chain simplification, structuring, dramatization, detailing and recrimination.

The phenomenon that when multiple messages passing be changed, is also called Chinese whispers.

Rumors in folk tales

The rumor is viewed from the ethnographic narrative research as a rather exotic genre of folk prose. It is usually short and direct, the statement is often made in the third person and usually refers to something already Geschehenes. Characteristic frames as "I 've heard that ... " at the beginning or "Is not that a thing? " At the end of the story are both questionable veracity as well as in the moral ambivalence founded. The rumor has a special relation to the Sage, also to the modern Sage ( Urban Myth ).