Rumor

Rumors have plagued our society for generations and they will continue too for generations to come. The thing about a rumor is that you do not know what is factual and what is false. So, can rumors be both good and bad? I believe rumors could be good, as long as the good in a rumor outweighs the bad.

According to World News Daily Report (WNDR) on September 23, 2015, it was reported that a teenager became pregnant after receiving the flu shot. The girl claims to still be a virgin, therefore, the vaccine had to have caused the pregnancy. A doctor proceeded to exam the girl, claimed she was in fact a virgin, and supported her claim.

"Texas 14-Year Old Virgin Falls Pregnant After Flu Shot"

This rumor is false, false, false! There is absolutely no truth to this rumor. The article threw in some useful information to make it believable though. The article claims the doctor has previously heard about vaccines making women pregnant, even though the doctor has never seen it. WNDR is known for their fictional stories and any resemblance to real people is completely coincidental.

According to Robert H. Knapps, “A Psychology of Rumor,” this article could be classified as a Bogie Rumor. In other words, the teenage girl may fear telling her parents she is sexually active and got pregnant, so she claims it was the flu vaccine (Knapp 497). She may have panicked and came up with something she thought would make sense as to why she was pregnant.

According to Daniel Goleman, “rumors perpetuate themselves by creating anxiety in the hearer” (Goleman 489). With all the controversy surrounding vaccines these days, claiming that the flu shot got a teenage girl pregnant would cause all kinds of anxiety and controversy. This rumor has the potential to spread like wildfire!

Knapp also discusses what makes a rumor good (Knapp 497). This article has a few of those “good rumor” qualities. As I was reading, I noticed there were no names being used. Also, a state was mentioned but not a city. The lack of these items makes the rumor unstable. This rumor also harmonizes with cultural traditions. Parents have been vaccinating their children for many, many years. If it came to light that a vaccine could make a woman pregnant, that would have an enormous impact on the tradition of vaccinations. Lastly, it is short, simple, and a good story. People love to read about and hear about things that make them question what they do.

Nicholas DiFonzo is a rumor expert. He claims that rumors are spread to help make sense of a situation. For example, a rumor may be told to someone just for the purpose that the teller is trying to gain information from the hearer. If someone tells you that jobs are being terminated, it may be because they want to know what information you have about that rumor. The flu shot rumor encourages shared human sense-making by having an answer as to why a virgin might be pregnant (DiFonzo).