RUMOUR AND ITS PSYCHE

In this blog I will be sharing my views on rumour mongering and how it can end up in polarizing the society which already do exist but will act like adding fuel to fire.

See,for this purpose let's see the anatomy and psychology behind it.During any crisis be it riot,war or pandemic,we have always seen a surge in rumour mongering and circulation of fake news.this trend has been noted through century,in some cases these rumours have been planted deliberately by vested groups or in some case it may have originated from not a credible source and such rumour mongering can have terrible social crisis.Example-during 1984 anti Sikh riots rumours were circulated that Sikhs were accumulating weapons in Gurudwaras around the country.During wars and epidemic during Europe,rumours were circulating that Jews were deliberately poisoning the wells.Now,during Covid crisis rumours mongered that Muslim shopkeepers and vendors were deliberately spitting on fruits and trying to spread the virus,which was an old video which came into the right context.But,in all these cases it has been noted that these rumours have gained widespread acceptance and they end up in polarizing the society.

Here's the anatomy of fake news-

1)Ring of truth(Half truth,plausible)- something that is reasonable because human tendency is to believe anything that is plausible.So,element of half truth makes it believable because something completely illogical we may not believe it but something plausible,we might end up believing it(it should be in the context).

2)Strong emotion attached to it-this always effect the collective psyche of the person.

See,if ten friends go to a restaurant and one of them orders Chicken Biryani,than no need to show the menu to rest of them or they will pretend like going through menu but ultimately end up in ordering Chicken Biryani only.See,this human psychology,they are driven by collective psyche.

3)Spreads rapidly,especially during times of crisis.

 So,with the emergence of new form of communication the rumours have not only become a social threat but also a security threat.The creation and emanating of fake news increases rapidly during crisis because human psychology is driven by heard mentality when faced by external threat.

So,when there is war,civil unrest or disaster group dynamics come into play and likes in particular group show solidarity and treat the unlike's with suspecion.

So,this war between likes and unlike's create fertile ground for propagation of rumours specially during crisis.As rumours circulate the mutual suspicion between likes and unlike's start coming true and will end up in polarizing the society. 

SOLUTIONS

Restrictive laws in place,it will help in punishing the ones who have created and circulated the rumour.

But,this will have only limited impact.Along with this we need leaders of society to play a effective role to tackle rumour mongering.Community leaders and democratically elected leaders have key role to play in preventing the rumour.