Just a rumour?

“Women are too emotional to be good leaders!”

Rumours like this spread like wildfire, especially on the Internet, where a message reaches the other end of the world within a second.

But how do rumours arise? People love to categorize themselves according to: “us vs. them” We believe what is told or taught to us in our environment. In most cases, this happens at home in the family, at school or through the media, such as television, radio or the Internet, which is especially important nowadays. In most cases we believe or accept them because the majority do and we prefer to avoid conflicts with them. They also help us to understand things so that they seem credible and valid to us. But rumours wouldn’t be rumours if they weren’t simply WRONG. So, what can we do against the spread of them or how can we make them arise at all? Even Albert Einstein said, “It’s harder to crack prejudice than an atom”. So how should we proceed to make the impossible possible? Each of us has prejudices. Therefore, it is essential that we first become aware of the untruths of these. In order to do that, we need to listen and to promote critical thinking, reflection and positive interaction. Rumours must be identified and then tackled. However, this seems to work much more effectively face to face than online. How can we therefore proceed on the Internet? For instance, to resolve the above rumour, you could create a quiz on Facebook that contains questions about women and men in key leadership positions. By always answering the question by a woman, which may be unexpected for most of the participants, and a brief explanation at the end of the quiz, you could correct the rumor. A quiz that contains facts enlightens and attracts attention at the same time and may last longer in memory than a simple video or poster.

To grab rumours at their feet and banish them from the Internet and people’s minds, the following characteristics of Antitumor Strategies should be considered. It is important to reach a common ground, not to approach with blame and to build a relationship with the audience.

Reference: Barderi, Daniel de Torren, Antirumours Handbook, Council of Europe.

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