Why are rumors often more believable than the truth?

One reason is that many people have lost faith in “press releases” or the “official versions.”

Rumours often sound juicy and unfiltered. They seem to contain the information that someone doesn't want us to know. And if it's about something we want to be true, we can feel as though we're getting the inside story before it becomes public. That aura of secrecy can make a rumour seem more authentic.

Most rumours also lean towards the negative. If there were a rumour that a riot was heading our way, it might be too late to take precautions if we waited for the truth. Believing a false warning may cause some unnecessary worry, but ignoring a true one could be dangerous.

I think we're also primed to expect bad news because news media make their money from it. So even when a rumour is positive, we may take it with a pinch of salt, because we don't want to get our hopes up and then be disappointed if it turns out to be false.

In that sense, believing a negative rumour can seem like being forewarned and therefore forearmed. It doesn't necessarily mean we fully believe the rumour, but the point is that if it is true, we'd rather know about it now instead of waiting for confirmation.

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