Chapter 5

By: Vanessa Stonkus

and Shana Garden

How did it start?

How widespread?

Ignore it or fight it?

Intentional

Premature-fact

Malicious

Outrageous

Nearly True

Birthday rumor

Procter & Gamble Satanism

Snapps Fast Food Aids

Rumor Hotline

Rumor Control

Rumor Workshops

Positive public relationships

Keep employees informed

Evaluate extent of the rumor

Do not mention the rumor

Analyze it

Do nothing

Deny the rumor publicly

Get outside expert

Place ads in publications

Internet and via e-mails

Flesh-eating bacteria

Decline in purchase of bananas

Centers of Disease Control in Atlanta Georgia.

Difficult to fight

Less difficult to determine the source

Circulated in emails

Joke gone wrong

Unhappy with the performance of a company

Unhappy with policies

Former employees

Consumer humor pages

Complaint pages

Personal expression

44% 18-34 yr olds get their news from internet

No editor to assure checks & balances

Fearn-Banks, Kathleen. "Rumors and Cybercrises." Crisis Communications A Casebook Approach (Lea's Communication). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2007. Print.