ABSTRACT

New communication technology has transformed the way in which news about key events is communicated. For example, in the immediate aftermath of catastrophic events such as the Mumbai attacks or the Japanese tsunami, partial accounts, accurate and inaccurate facts, rumour and speculation are now very rapidly disseminated across the globe, often ahead of official announcements and formal news reporting. Often in such situations rumours take hold, and continue to characterise events even after a more complete, more accurate picture eventually emerges. This book explores how such rumours are created, disseminated and absorbed in the age of the internet and mobile communications. It includes a wide range of examples and, besides considering the overall processes involved, engages with scholarly debates in the field of media and communication studies.

chapter |19 pages

Introduction

chapter |26 pages

Rumor, gossip, and conspiracy theories

Pathologies of testimony and the principle of publicity

chapter |15 pages

Have you Heard?

The Rumor as Reliable

chapter |17 pages

Triangle of death

Strategic communication, counterinsurgency operations, and the rumor mill

chapter |16 pages

The Politics of informal communication

Conspiracy theories and rumors in the 2009 (post-)electoral Iranian public sphere

chapter |12 pages

Rumors, religion, and political mobilization

Indonesian cases, 1965–98

chapter |18 pages

Rumors of terrorism

Social cognitive structures, collective sense-making, and the emergence of rumor

chapter |13 pages

Anxiety and rumor

Exploratory analysis of Twitter posts during the Mumbai terrorist attack

chapter |11 pages

Rumor—the evil twin of strategic communication

What “white” propaganda can learn from “gray”

chapter |14 pages

Conclusion