Can’t Whisper a Campaign

Editorial:-
Rumours deliver only one service - entertainment. Many would like to believe that they also spread confusion, seed division or sway opinions, but to believe so would be underestimating the intelligence of the people. They always know where the information ends and speculation and plants begin, but invariably play along for the vicarious pleasure that being made privy to rumours and speculations provide. Rumours, at the end of the day, titillate, scandalise and then evaporate. In most cases, the receivers and perhaps even the circulators of such gossip know that no one believes the rumours and everyone partakes in it only get over the boredom of routine. There is really only one way to handle a rumour – ignore it. But while it is easy to ignore something when it is only whispered in street corners, it becomes difficult to do so when they are palmed out in the public domain.
Most rumours are brought into wider circulation by political parties, both ruling as well as opposition, by way of press releases and public speeches. Newspapers, by the very definition of their jobs, are required to allow the space for such public statements. Unfortunately, the political parties which play rumours into the streets are not required to be accountable. What is worse, few demands are made of them to even be professional. Allegations are raised without even prima facie evidence and claims are made without any supporting evidence. To deny them the space by way of news coverage would be unfair to the profession of journalism, but to sensationalise their statements means being even more unprofessional. It is a difficult call, but given the extremes to which claims and counter-claims swerve in the political domain, the only hope is that the readers can see through weak fronts on their own and sift the gossip from the news [when it is about claims and counters]. That would be the ideal situation, but we don’t live in an ideal world.
For those who have an issue with rumour-mongering, the best defence is offered by a strong implementation of the Right to Information Act. The moment people have real fears or suspicions, they should be able to draft an application and seek the right information which should be lucid and should reach them quickly. But information by itself is worthless if the debate that follows is not informed and coherent. Thus far, public debates have essentially been shouting matches with no heed paid to putting things in context or explaining the issues. The people had to make do with slanging matches instead. If the people desire, things can be different now. They can inform themselves in advance [thanks to the RTI Act] and then hear out the politicians to decide whether their arguments and interpretations are sound or not. At the end of the day, the only weapon against rumours is the truth. Circulate it in the public domain and embarrass those who deal in rumours.