It started as a joke, a whisper, a throwaway comment on a podcast. But before long, the headline was everywhere: Barack Obama and Jennifer Aniston are having an affair. Tabloids ran with it. Social media exploded. And despite being completely false, the rumor took on a life of its own.
This isn’t just a bizarre celebrity hoax—it’s a textbook example of how misinformation spreads, eroding our ability to separate truth from fiction.
In this episode, we break down how viral gossip, conspiracy thinking, and media manipulation are accelerating the collapse of public trust. We turn to "A Lot of People Are Saying" by Russell Muirhead & Nancy L. Rosenblum and "Gossip: The Untrivial Pursuit" by Joseph Epstein to unpack why rumors thrive, how they shape society, and what history warns us about the consequences.
We tackle three critical questions:
• Does repetition make lies feel true? From celebrity gossip to political conspiracies, the more something is repeated, the more people believe it—no evidence needed.
• Why do certain rumors spread faster than others? The Obama-Aniston hoax wasn’t just random; it tapped into existing narratives about both figures, proving that misinformation thrives on preexisting biases.
• What happens when trust in media collapses? When fake stories circulate unchecked, people lose faith in all information—including real journalism. The result? A society where facts no longer matter.
And for our bonus deep dive, we explore the eerie parallels between today’s misinformation crisis and one of history’s bloodiest uprisings—the French Revolution. From Marie Antoinette’s infamous “Let them eat cake” myth to the diamond necklace scandal, gossip helped fuel revolutionary rage, ultimately leading to her execution. Could today’s digital rumor mill be leading us down a similar path?
Books mentioned:
📖 "A Lot of People Are Saying" by Russell Muirhead & Nancy L. Rosenblum
📖 "Gossip: The Untrivial Pursuit" by Joseph Epstein
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