Around the Watercooler

Exploring the psychology of rumors.
Nicholas DiFonzo is Professor of Psychology at Rochester Institute of Technology and author of The Watercooler Effect: A Psychologist Explores the Extraordinary Power of Rumors. See full bio

Political Rumors in the 2008 Election.

The pschology of the 2008 election rumors.

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Were the 2008 election rumors planted? It does seem likely that some partisans purposely crafted the Obama-is-a-Muslim rumor and the Trig-is-Palin's-grandson rumor-while knowing they were false-then planting them in blogospheres where they were sure to flourish. The extreme sense of polarized conflict along ideological lines currently extant in the political scene makes this idea plausible.

(This post was adapted from an Op-Ed article I wrote in the NY Post, 9/14/08)



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