What are the types of online rumors?
There are roughly four kinds of rumors in the whole cyberspace:
Social security rumors such as "tap water pollution" and "someone was flooded with electricity" after the rain triggered social panic;
Rumors of love and charity, such as "robbing children", mainly use the sympathy of netizens;
Rumors about common sense of life, such as food safety and medical care. They are all aimed at the "pain points" in the lives of netizens;
Malicious marketing rumors, merchants use this incident to promote their products and improve brand awareness.
Why do online rumors spread again and again?
Sudden events and natural disasters are the times when network rumors occur frequently, because at this time, netizens generally start from their own interests and like to guess the progress of events. Finally, according to its own logic, it deduces false information and publishes it on the Internet, which becomes the source of rumors.
Due to their insecurities and venting needs, some netizens forwarded them directly without identification, which made rumors spread and had a huge impact. This is a psychological mechanism that enables rumors to spread.