Do you know what Internet rumors are?

In this era of universal self-media, everyone has the right to speak. However, a large number of rumor makers have also emerged. They arbitrarily post false information online, and achieve the purpose of passing off false information as true by generalizing, making something out of nothing, reversing black and white, stealing concepts, confusing tenses, etc. So what are online rumors? What are the forms of online rumors? What punishment will be imposed for spreading rumors online?

What is "online rumor"?

"Online rumor" refers to rumors spread through network media (such as Weibo, foreign websites, online forums, social networking sites, chat software, etc.) without factual basis and with offensive and purposeful discourse, mainly involving emergencies, public domains, politicians, subversion of traditions, heresy, etc.

With the innovation of Internet technology, online rumors have produced many new characteristics by relying on new media for dissemination. These characteristics have completely different characteristics from traditional rumors, such as anonymity, group dissemination, high dissemination efficiency, short dissemination life cycle, information reorganization, and high credibility of recreated facts.

Categories and manifestations of "Internet rumors"

1. Internet crime rumors

This type of rumor generally fabricates some shocking or outrageous criminal information, causing public anger and fear, causing public dissatisfaction with the government, government workers or certain groups, and also affects the reputation of the parties and disrupts their normal lives.

2. Internet terrorist rumors

This type of rumor generally fabricates terrorist information or information about events that endanger public safety, causing public panic, disrupting social order, causing public dissatisfaction with government management, and affecting social stability.

3. Internet disaster rumors

Fabricate information about a certain disaster that is about to happen, or fabricate and exaggerate the harmful information of a disaster that has already occurred, causing public panic and disrupting social and economic order.

4. Internet personal event rumors

Internet personal event rumors fabricate eye-catching false information against certain individuals, especially celebrities, infringe on the privacy of the parties, and cause negative impacts or even economic losses to the parties.

What are the hazards of "Internet rumors"?

1. Cause social shocks, endanger public safety, and harm public interests. Since online rumors spread quickly and widely, once some alarmist rumors form a certain scale, they will cause adverse effects, causing panic among the majority of netizens, thus causing social instability.

2. Disrupt people's thoughts, psychology and behavior. People often show all kinds of inappropriate behaviors for a false rumor, especially when faced with rumors about their own vital interests, people lose their reason and judgment even more, and feel from the bottom of their hearts that this is true. One person spreads ten, ten spreads a hundred, and in the end, people are panicked.

3. Online rumors mislead public opinion. Rumors are specious, confusing people's vision, leading to people's alienation from the mainstream ideology of society, and polluting the online public opinion environment. Some young people lack social experience, have weak discrimination and self-control abilities, and may have negative emotions towards society and the future when faced with online rumors, thus losing their ambitions and giving up their spiritual pursuits and career advancement.