> Spreading rumours doesn't pay the bills, so there's no large scale incentive to spread them.

Spreading rumours absolutely helps pay the bills, it's almost an essential part of the experience of going to the pub in a small town that only has a couple.

You're right to say that there is no "large-scale" incentive though.

>You're right to say that there is no "large-scale" incentive though.

Journalism.

> The bartender typically doesn't sell your data.

Scammers sell your data all the time. Try going to some third world country to some shady hotel, and the receptionist will tell the taxi driver exactly whre you came from and how rich they think you are, taxi driver will then take you to a scammy club, where they'll already know how much they can scam out of you, sometimes even the police is in the whole scam, so even the police officer knows all your data, before you even see them.

This regularly happens in USA, EU, and Japan which are not a third world country, whatever that's supposed to mean in 2021.

I was born in a country that was the literal definition of the third world (still live here, the country doesnt exist anymore), and places in EU avoid scamming our people like this, because it brings them too many issues, and they rather focus on richer german etc. tourists.