Rumors: Information Is the Antidote

Para rumores.. informação!

Até mesmo um boato totalmente falso tem uma espécie de "verdade": 

Ele revela informações importantes sobre como as pessoas estão 

pensando e sentindo, e que tipo de acusações que consideram credível.

Antigamente tinhamos dificuldade para a obtenção de informações. 

Agora o problema é selecionar as informações.

Na guia da OMS temos 6 dicas para enfrentar 

um rumor em situações de crise:

Repeat the rumor you’re rebutting. If people are hearing X from their friends and coworkers, you can’t just say Y instead, as if you hadn’t even heard the rumor. You need to start by saying, “Yes, I heard X too.”

Be empathic toward those who believe the rumor. You don’t want to validate that X is true, since your point is that it’s false – but it helps to validate that people aren’t stupid to think X might be true.

Demonstrate that you have taken the rumor seriously. Many people expect official sources to deny damaging rumors whether they’re true or not. So if you want your denials to be credible, show that they’re not knee-jerk. “Here’s what I did to look into the rumor…. And here’s what I learned….”

Give evidence that the rumor is false. Your evidence may be quantitative data. It may be quotations from credible third parties. It may be anecdotal. Ideally, it will be all of the above. Don’t expect people to take your word for it.

Discuss all evidence that the rumor is true. Assume people have heard or will hear the other side’s most persuasive arguments. They will loom all the larger if you haven’t mentioned them. If the evidence is 95% on your side, don’t claim it’s 100% on your side. Talk about the discrepant 5%.

Promise to stay alert. Good science is always tentative, and so is good risk communication. “Even though there are no signs of X so far, I am keeping an open mind. If the situation changes, here’s how I’ll know…. And if that happens, I will announce it immediately.”