Rumor Mongering in War Time
1975; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 96; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/00224545.1975.9923258
ISSN1940-1183
Autores Tópico(s)Misinformation and Its Impacts
ResumoSummary The study tests the hypothesis that the essentials of rumor are importance and ambiguity: that is, the amount of rumor in circulation varies with the importance of the subject times the ambiguity of the evidence. The study also test the transmission theory of rumor and the classificatory method devised by Robert H. Knapp. The frequencies of the rumors that circulated in U.S.A. in 1942 and in Biafra from 1968–1970 are also compared. The results strongly confirmed the hypothesis, except that a new class of rumor, named “neo-pipe-dream rumor,” was discovered among the rumors that circulated in Biafra. In each country it is found that there is a negative correlation between pipe-dream rumors and wedge-driving rumors.
Referência(s)