Word: rumoring
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...United States, St. Patrick's Day is much more than a religious remembrance of a saint who lived over 1,500 years ago who drove the snakes from Ireland (rumor) and converted much of the island to Christianity (fact). Instead it has become a celebration of all things Irish, of a nation whose emigrants to this country produced, at least in part, over 45 million Irish-Americans living today. We sing of the "old country," talking lovingly about the light mists that caress her rolling green fields, dancing to her vibrant music traditional and modern, and celebrating this wondrous "Isle...
...easy to determine that no one in their right mind would lie about them, then juxtaposing them with the latent skepticism that all students mindlessly direct toward the administration, and then coupling them with a bogus "computer program" whose workings are sufficiently ambiguous, you have just started a rumor that requires no more effort from you whatsoever. Before you can say "I'm not sure if it's true, but..." at least four hundred students will start looking for ways to cut those extra five people out of their blocking groups, destroying friendships and wreaking irreparable heartbreak all over Harvard...
...ever been fooled by a false rumor, you know that the strongest impulse is to build your own rumor mill, preferably out of common household items. So why not start a local Harvard rumor? Not a rumor about an individual, of course, since that would be far too simple for skeptics to confirm or deny--and if it ever got back that you were the one who started the rumor, it could mean trouble for you indeed. No, if you're going to start a rumor, don't just make it gossip. Make it legendary...
Starting a believable rumor is much easier than the web of idiocy spawned by such rumors would imply. Rumors succeed because even the most brilliant people are surprisingly unskeptical, particularly if the rumor bases itself on a premise that one should be skeptical of something else. It's simple. All you have to do is sit down in some very large survey class and start talking to a friend, softly enough so that it's clear you don't intend to be overheard but loudly enough so that you know you will be, about how of course the administration likes...
...Reporters have been attacked for simply reporting facts," Donaldson said. "The idea that we're passing on innuendo and rumor without checking it is just wrong...