ABSTRACT

The more a rumor has an emotional basis, the less a reality-related strategy is operative. An analysis of the backlash that began in June 1969 against the Orleans rumor provides a clear example of how a rumor can be dislodged or depositioned: the rumor's identity was changed, that is, its position and the public's perception of it were modified. The reply to the rumor consisted in publicly exploiting the anti-Semitic side of the rumor, thereby endowing it with an unacceptable identity. The Orleans rumor was thus "positioned" as implying a true anti-Semitic conspiracy, an organized clan, slanderous operations, and the return of demons that France had chased away in 1945. Every rumor gives people a certain reflection, impression, or image of the person who spreads it. In Orleans, for example, revealing to others that a white slave trade was operating at the very heart of the town gave a real boost to the narrator's image, increasing his social standing.