The online rumor mill is the self-sustaining cycle in which gossip posts, fan theories and reaction content keep an unverified claim alive long after its news moment has passed. It rewards suspicion because suspicion engages. In this story, the rumor mill kept the D’Amelio money claims circulating for months on the fuel of an unfollow and a single anonymous tip, until Charli D’Amelio answered them directly and denied them.
(Priyanka Pruthi / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0))
Mentioned in: Six Years of Silence, One Clear Answer: What the D’Amelio Rumor Cycle Says About Fame and Family Money