ABSTRACT

A rumor is first and foremost a type of behavior. At a certain moment, a group mobilizes and starts "rumoring": speaking becomes contagious. Not every story told sets off a rumor. The first question is this: Why do we spread some of them and not others? The comparison between newspaper readers and those who heed stories they are told has a sizable limit: to the reader, the facts related are authentic and verified, he has confidence in the media. The story listener cannot be so certain, even if he believes they may possibly be true. He must find some assurance and also wants to know what to think. Humans are social animals. This statement has been so often repeated that it now sounds banal. Nevertheless, it draws our attention to several phenomena at the crux of rumors. For certain people, transmitting rumors is like starting a crusade or spreading the good word.