'Have You Heard This? The Latest On Rumor'

Intro Authors Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen quote psychologist Nicholas DiFonzo, in “Have You Heard This? The Latest on Rumor,” as asking, “What is it about being human that sets the stage for rumor activity?” (478). Rumors and gossip are usually designed to hurt others. Since rumors hurt or destroy other people’s lives and take away their happiness, then why do people like to spread them? Some of the people who spread rumors often feel better about themselves, and they enjoy seeing others suffer. Most rumors start with some truth, then, as they are passed from one person to another, people change some of the information or the whole story. Many people, today, are manipulated by others into spreading information about individuals

Rumors can be good or bad. Jesse Singal, in “How to Fight a Rumor,” quotes DiFonzo as saying, “Lots of times people will share a rumor not for their benefit or for the other person’s benefit, but simply because they’re trying to figure out the facts” (514). I remember at high school, the rumor was spread about the teacher. Students that had her class were not serious and were close to failing her class, so they spread the rumor that she was a very bad teacher, and the rumor spreads around the whole school. Next semester, I took her class and I found out that she was a very good teacher. I then spread the rumor that she was a good teacher, and I proved that the problem was only in bad students who wanted to harm her reputation. Some people can’t live without spreading rumors about others; they have become addicted. Sometimes, people spread rumors for publicity; for example, in “Paul is Dead! (Said Fred),” Alan Glenn tells the story of Fred LaBour, who wrote the article that claimed that Paul MaCartney had died in an automobile accident. This rumor spread quickly, all across the United States and Western Europe, and many people believed it. Glenn cites LaBour’s explanation, “But after a few days, the theatrical aspect became clearer to me, and, shy as I was in the face of all the attention, I began to enjoy the ride” (502). From this statement, it is clear that LaBour enjoyed all the attention that came along with this rumor. In my opinion, instead of spreading rumors about others, people need to focus on their own lives and how they can become