In a high-anxiety environment – such as the one created by the current financial crisis – wild rumors all too often carry the weight of fact. When a company’s stakeholders hear troublesome news, they don’t have the luxury of waiting around for confirmation. They’ll opt for the knee-jerk reaction almost every time. Just ask Apple investors whose stock lost ten percent of its value in ten minutes after false reports that CEO Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack hit the blogosphere.

The upcoming issue of Psychology Today takes a fresh look at this all too familiar topic in an article that offers some valuable insights for crisis managers and anyone else in the uncomfortable position of trying to knock down a troublesome rumor.

Not surprisingly, the experts conclude that rumors feed on human emotion. Verifiable facts, and even simple common sense, have little or nothing to do with the way a rumor spreads. Even the smartest people are easy prey. Utterly improbable urban legends persist even though they can be easily disproven. And, of course, once a rumor finds its way to the Web, it lives forever.

The lesson for anyone trying to combat a fast-spreading rumor is that what people feel usually matters far more than what they know. The weight of factual evidence, no matter how compelling, counts for very little against the fears and anxieties that shape how most people perceive the world around them. Only by understanding and appreciating this troublesome aspect of human nature can we hope to counter wild rumors with hard facts.

The article concludes with some sound advice that crisis managers everywhere should take to heart:

-If a rumor happens to be true, don’t try to deny it. Especially in today’s globally interconnected information environment, nobody’s credibility can survive that sort of exposure.                                                                                                                      

-On the other hand, if the rumor is not true, don’t hesitate to deny it. Just remember that an overly aggressive defense can easily send a counterproductive message. A denial that is out of proportion to the rumor you are defending against can easily send the unintended message that you actually have something to be defensive about.

-Use credible third parties to refute the rumor. Messages delivered by independent third parties usually carry more weight than those delivered by interested parties. 

-Be specific. Refute the rumor point-by-point, but always frame your refutation positively. Don’t talk about what isn’t, only talk about what is. And never repeat the negative allegation unless it is absolutely necessary to put your refutation in context.