The College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences for Women at the University of Baghdad held an interesting lecture for the students of the undergraduate studies entitled “Rumor and the responsibility of the public”, delivered by the head of the Follow-up Division, Prof. Dr. Suhad Qassim al-Musawi. The lecturer pointed out that the rumor represents a news or a group of false news that are spreading in the society quickly and they circulate among the public in the belief of their validity, and this news is always interesting and curious to the community and researchers where these rumors usually lack the reliable source that holds evidence of the validity of the news, because these rumors represent a large part of the information that we deal with.
Then she addressed the elements of rumors such as the source, the message, the channel, the target party, the echo and she divided rumors into three types: namely smart, public and naive rumors, explaining the objectives of rumors, including confusion of ideas, destroying the morale of enemy soldiers, grooming minorities, destroying the national, religious and social belonging of peoples. At the end of the lecture, the lecturer recommended to work to get rid of rumors through several methods, the most important of which is quick response, reply through opinion leaders by providing an explanation showing the correct facts or information, using the media, or even activating a lawsuit against individuals involved in this problem.
