Abstract

A typology of rumours is constructed according to their relation to reality after their veracity has been authenticated. True rumours become information. Untrue rumours are categorized as affirming or denying rumours; affirming rumours state the reality of imaginary facts, whereas denying rumours undermine the reality of established facts. Denying rumour types are distinguished and discussed under rubrics of alleged survival, doubles, bogus events and so on, and through their characteristic features of hypercritical thinking, hidden reality revelation and plot denunciation. In a world where knowledge is no longer seen as objective or final, where the public have become suspicious of governments and the media, and where real and synthetic images are often indistinguishable, denying rumours and ideas are expected to feature more significantly on the information market, as already typified by activity on the web