Dissertation about electronic rumours: I need your help!

This is the translation of yesterday’s post about my dissertation. So, my research is focused on the transmission of electronic rumours and how it evolved from the web “first generation” to the so-called “web2.0”. What I call an “electronic rumour” is any unverified information spreading on the Internet (emails, forums, blogs, microblogging platforms, social networks, social bookmarking sites, video sharing services, mobile web, etc.).

So, It’d like to compare the transmission model from the web1 (mainly through email and BBS/messageboards) with the new model I’ve developed for the web2.0. Afterwards I’ll have to evaluate and test this model on several case studies, and that’s why I need you!

It would help me a lot if you could suggest me some rumours, and tell me why you find them interesting (length, multiple channel used, different versions of the same rumour, use of new channels such at mobile web or microblogging tools, etc.). The theme or topic isn’t relevant for my research, so it can be anything except marketing related rumours (no viral or buzz campaigns).

Those rumours don’t have to be specific to the Internet but MUST be spread and transmitted on the web. You can think of some examples such as the strange things you can find about Barack Obama’s religion, the rumoirs around the Iphone 3G before it was launched, etc.

Thanks in advance for helping, I really appreciate it! You can leave your rumours in the comments at the bottom of this post, or send them by email at [REDACTED]. It would be nice if you could spread the word about this research to your bloggers or microbloggers friends, or any person using social media on a regular basis.