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Opinion: To end political rumors, look to the messenger and not the message

File photo/Doug Mills/The New York Times / Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, confer during a campaign event in Asheboro, N.C., on Aug. 21, 2024. From attacks on “childless cat ladies” to claims of migrants devouring neighbors' pets, Vance is providing many Americans with their first glimpse of an ultra-online, aggressively combative generation of rabble-rousing conservatism. File photo/Doug Mills/The New York Times / Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, confer during a campaign event in Asheboro, N.C., on Aug. 21, 2024. From attacks on “childless cat ladies” to claims of migrants devouring neighbors' pets, Vance is providing many Americans with their first glimpse of an ultra-online, aggressively combative generation of rabble-rousing conservatism.

By Nedra Rhone / The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS) September 28, 2024 3 min read

The lyrics from a catchy ’80s tune have been running through my head for the past week.

“Stop spreading those rumors around. Stop spreading those lies.”

Calling to mind this 1986 song by Timex Social Club was the lighthearted way I dealt with heavy emotions about the impact recent political rumors have had on the country.

I have read dispatches from Springfield, Ohio, recounting the school closures, bomb threats, deployment of state troopers and fear of some residents thanks to the rumors promulgated by Donald Trump during the presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this month.

Trump repeated a rumor that migrants from Haiti were eating the pets of Springfield residents.