Why do elders always believe the "rumors" in family groups?

Duke Zhou, a founding hero of the Western Zhou Dynasty, was envied by ministers such as Guan Shu, Cai Shu, and Huo Shu because he had assisted the young King Cheng of Zhou in his early years and was entrusted with the power of regent. So they spread rumors everywhere: "Duke Zhou is going to seize the throne." Immediately, the rumor spread. King Cheng of Zhou became suspicious of Duke Zhou after hearing it. In order to protect himself, Duke Zhou gave up his position as prime minister and fled to his fiefdom to avoid disaster.

Wang Mang, a powerful official in the Western Han Dynasty, was initially humble, self-disciplined, honest, and courteous. He was highly praised by the government and the public. Unexpectedly, Wang Mang later usurped the throne and took over the Western Han Dynasty. If Duke Zhou had not retired in time, but was executed by King Cheng of Zhou, he would not have been remembered in history, but would have been a traitor; if Wang Mang had died before seizing power, he would have been known as a wise official. Therefore, the Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi wrote, "Duke Zhou was afraid of rumors, and Wang Mang was humble before he usurped the throne. If he had died at the beginning, who would know the truth about his life?" It can be seen that if the rumors were not exposed, history might have been rewritten.

Source: Baijiahao

1.What is a rumor?

In the context of daily life, rumors, hearsay and false information are often used interchangeably. Rumor, which is often used in foreign contexts, mainly refers to widely spread information of unknown origin, which can be true or false. However, the more appropriate translation of rumor in Chinese should be "rumor", rather than the commonly used "rumor", because the concept of rumor in the Chinese context emphasizes the negativity of information and the subjective malice of the spreader.

Oil painting "Kerspin and Scapin"

Source: Wikipedia

The term misinformation is more recent than the first two, and focuses on the impact on the general public, mainly referring to false information spread due to negligence or unconscious bias. Disinformation , on the other hand, emphasizes the intentions of the creator or disseminator of false information, and is mainly used in the field of political communication. Fake news refers more to false information that is deliberately released by the information publisher in the form of professional news media, and the form and genre of the news released.

2. Why do rumors spread so quickly?

British statesman Winston Churchill said, "A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth has even put on its trousers." There are three reasons why rumors spread so quickly:

(1) Rumors are fabricated and are not bound by facts, thus satisfying people’s curiosity.

For example, there was a news report some time ago: the first CAR-T lymphoma patient in China was discharged from the hospital. Two months later, no cancer cells were found in his body and his symptoms were completely relieved. As soon as the news came out, various media rushed to report it, and the news eventually became "a magical anti-cancer drug that costs 1.2 million yuan per injection can cure cancer." There seems to be nothing wrong with these two pieces of news, but the public prefers the second one, so it is spread as a miracle. Some experts came out to refute the rumor, but the effect was minimal. This is largely due to the confirmation bias in the information processing process, that is, people are more willing to believe information that conforms to their previous cognition and attitudes.

Source: Sichuan Observation

(2) The brain has a preference for negative information. When faced with negative information, we become more sensitive and profound, and our emotions are easily aroused, which makes rumors spread like wildfire. From the perspective of the social reasons for the generation and spread of rumors, the spread of rumors serves as an "early warning device", arousing the public's vigilance and concern about risks or crises.

(3) Some rumors may be eliminated in the process of spreading, but because they spread very quickly and new rumors will always be generated in the process of spreading, they have strong vitality.

Source: Baidu Pictures

3. How to control the spread of rumors?

American scholar Cass R. Sunstein once wrote in his book Rumors that "whether people believe a rumor depends on what they thought before they heard it." People are often not as interested in the truth as they are in rumors, or some people don't care about the truth at all. However, rumors can cause many harms, some of which are even irreversible.

For example, in the movie "A River of Sadness", the heroine Yi Yao should have enjoyed a beautiful campus life, but because of rumors, she fell into endless darkness and suffered all kinds of cruel bullying. In this invisible abyss created by rumors, there were no bystanders, only perpetrators. In the end, the heroine chose to commit suicide under everyone's gaze. The harm caused by rumors cannot be erased, so we need to nip rumors in the bud.

Source: Movie screenshots

1. To prevent the spread of rumors, we should improve relevant laws and regulations; technically, we can develop and improve the detection effect of network systems on rumors. At the same time, we should strengthen the moral quality and behavioral norms of mainstream media. Some bad reports from official media will make the public question the credibility of authoritative media, thus providing an opportunity for rumors to develop.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

2. When the government or relevant departments realize that rumors are beginning to spread, they should disclose information in a timely manner to reduce the space for rumors to grow, seize the information commanding heights, and respond publicly to emergencies in a timely manner to prevent the situation from escalating.

3. "Rumors stop at the wise." We are living in an era of information explosion. As the receiver of information, we should improve our ability to think independently and criticize, distinguish right from wrong, and not believe in rumors or spread them. Of course, if you think something is right after thinking about it, it is still necessary to spread it.

Source: Jining News Network

4. We seem to have a common misunderstanding about rumors, that is, rumors are not true. In fact, the source of some rumors is true, but in the process of spreading, the spreader's cognitive bias and personal emotions are brought in. In this way, one person spreads a hundred, a hundred spreads a thousand, and the truth finally becomes a lie. Therefore, as the disseminators of information, we should follow the true face of the facts, not easily bring in our own subjective emotions, supervise each other, and jointly create a healthy and good public opinion environment.

Perhaps, as long as humans exist, rumors will never disappear. Then I will borrow Bai Juyi's words again to tell you: "I will give you a method to resolve doubts, without drilling tortoise shells or praying to yarrow. To test jade, you need to burn it for three days, and to identify materials, you need to wait for seven years." People's cognition of things under certain conditions is always limited, so don't rush to judge the truth or falsehood of things, time can often prove everything.