What are the characteristics of rumors in introduction to sociology?
Rumors have the following characteristics: first, rumors are specious. We say that rumors are inaccurate news, but if they are completely false or distorted information, it is difficult to spread. Second, the emergence of rumors is closely related to some critical state of society or some sensitive things. Usually, there are few rumors in daily affairs. Third, rumors are directly related to the transparency of information. Any society with a low degree of information disclosure and strictly controlled news media is a place where rumors frequently occur. Fourth, rumors begin to stop easily. As the saying goes, "good things don't go out, bad things spread thousands of miles." Although rumors are not necessarily bad news, they are related to many negative news. Fifth, rumors will be constantly dealt with in the spread. In other words, rumors are not only the spreading process of some unfounded information, but also the product of this process.