World War II 'rumor clinics' helped America battle wild gossip

Re:World War II 'rumor clinics' helped America battle wild g... by WesleyLivesay on Wednesday March 06, 2024 @11:25AM (#39617560)

I think this ties into the negative connotation I mentioned: propaganda does not have to be false, it just has to be biased.

One thing I noticed in the article was that all of the rumors being discussed were negative rumors. The goal was to take rumors that might bring down morale and "set them right". I wonder if positive rumors were treated the same way.

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Re:World War II 'rumor clinics' helped America battle wild g... by doktrin on Wednesday March 06, 2024 @11:58AM (#39617975)

Technically true, but popular connotation matters, and in this case I’d argue it matters more than the dictionary definition.

It’s a bit like “racism” : I honestly have no idea if the current academic definition is “prejudice + power” or just “prejudice” - but to a significant extent it doesn’t really matter since the common understanding is the one that matters when communicating.

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