ABSTRACT
The management of rumors should represent a basic component of day-to-day business operations, rather than merely something that is considered in crisis situations. Business activities that involve approaches to preventing and neutralizing rumors must focus on the reduction of the conditions that tend to give rise to rumors and the motives that compel people to communicate unsubstantiated messages. As a basic tool of marketing communication, public relations represents one of the most effective means by which companies can garner trust and minimize the likelihood they will be targeted by false and malicious rumors. Strong social ties between the company and consumer groups might also make it easier to enlist community leaders as rumor detectors who can be asked to communicate to the company early signs that a rumor problem is imminent. If the information distributed to the media is communicated inappropriately to a rumor-prone public or is treated in a nonserious manner, the rumor problem may only be exacerbated.
