How to Start and Spread a Rumor
When something is repeated enough times, it is believed as a statement of fact.
One guy who was a victim of this was Michael Jackson.
There were a lot of bizarre stories created about him in the late 90s and early 2000s.
His looks didn’t help either.
With all the plastic surgery, skin color change, and soft voice, the general public believed the vicious rumors about him.
Michael did his best to debunk these rumors, but it was too late.
When a lie is repeated enough times, it is seen as the truth.
What Are Rumors?
Rumors are pieces of information that may or may not be true.
The rumor is spread to hurt someone’s reputation.
I’ll tell you a story about a rumor I spread a while back.
And I’ll tell you how that rumor got a life of its own.
Rumors can hurt someone’s self-esteem.
And that’s what the person who is spreading the rumor is actively trying to do.
If you’re living in a civilized society, people are not fighting left and right.
In the old school days, to settle beef, we would do it with our hands.
We’d slap someone upside the head.
Nowadays, if we do that, we’d be charged with assault.
Therefore, the rumor strategy is a potent way to take someone down.
Social media is only an amplifier.
There are new rumors being sparked all the time.
There was this recent interview where Tucker Carlson talked with someone who claimed to have gay sex with Barack Obama.
A certain segment of the population will see this, and be like:
‘Do people really care about this information?’
Another group of people will be like:
‘I knew it!!’
In the social media age, the most ridiculous things can take up a life of its own.
The Time I Spread a Rumor
The year was 2011.
This was the year that I got a hookah flavor named after me.
It was called Armani XXX.
During that time, I didn’t have much of an identity.
It felt good getting a hookah flavor named after me because it gave me some buzz.
The hookah owner was happy that I threw some events at his lounge.
After throwing the events, word of mouth of his lounge spread, and his place became the go-to spot for the Desi community.
Naming a hookah after me was his way of showing gratitude.
A lot of people got Armani XXX, and they liked it.
Besides one guy.
I’ll call him Tommy.
Tommy had it out for me because I used to hook up with his sister.
He thought I was a bad guy.
The first time he went to the hookah bar, he said:
‘Armani XXX sucks!!’
I knew what a scumbag he was because he didn’t even smoke hookah.
He just wanted to hurt my brand.
He kept saying it with such a forceful voice that people who were about to order Armani XXX made the facial expression of:
‘Hm… Does the hookah actually suck?’
Suddenly, they changed their mind:
‘I’ll take blue mist instead.’
I was furious.
I finally had something going for me and this guy was trying to ruin it.
I guess I’ll ruin him now.
Hey There Little Guy
After that moment, I didn’t view him as Tommy anymore.
I viewed him as the ‘Little Guy.’
We were in the same club together, so I’d see him every Thursday.
During our meetings, I would subtly insult him.
Whenever he’d talk, I’d be like:
‘Good job, little guy.’
Whenever we’d disagree, I’d say:
‘You know what? You have a point, little guy.’
Others began laughing.
They were like:
‘Why do you keep calling him the little guy??’
I said:
‘I’ll let you use your imagination.’
Repetition makes things spread like WILDFIRE.
I was slowly dismantling his reputation.
In the public, he was no longer seen as Tommy.
His new identity was the “little guy.”
One night, we threw a social in the hookah lounge, and I heard music to my ears.
Anyone who would see Tommy would be like:
‘Yooooo, it’s the little guy!’
People who never met Tommy before would ask him:
‘Why does everyone call you the little guy for?’
Tommy was furious.
He was being seen as smaller and smaller in the public eye.
To make matters worse, I never said why I called him that.
So, I let the public use their own imagination.
- Was it because he was short?
- Was he little because he had a passive personality?
- Did he have a little pee-pee?
I’ll let y’all decipher that…
What I Learned From that Moment
I saw Tommy in 2020 at a wedding and we made peace.
Neither one of us knew that many people at the wedding, so we spent a long time talking about the past.
Tommy told me how he hated me for calling him the Little Guy.
I told him how I hated him for telling people that my hookah flavor sucked.
I learned that there were different ways to spread a rumor.
Ultimately, it comes down to repetition and letting someone use their own imagination.
Because we don’t fully know if the information is accurate or not.
That’s why nowadays, I exercise the open-minded skepticism philosophy.
I’m willing to hear things out.
However, I’m not quick to believe anything.
There are plenty of people like Tommy and the old-school me.
Tommy was spreading sinister information because he had resentment for the person getting with his sister.
I was spreading sinister information because I wanted revenge.
Don’t believe things so quickly.
Hear them out, sure.
But know there is a possibility that misleading info is coming out of their mouths.
It’d be a shame if you let a resentful person ruin a good person’s reputation in your eyes.
The best way to kill a rumor is to not believe it.
