Anatomy Of A Rumor

IN THE span of three days last August, commissioner Bud Selig's office fielded more than 50 calls from reporters checking the rumor that two of baseball's biggest stars-- Roger Clemens and Johnny Damon--had tested positive for steroids and that an announcement from MLB's office was imminent. Radio talk shows around the country were speculating about the speculation, and several newspapers published stories that said Clemens and Damon were under suspicion.

The rumor--which was false--began with an anonymous contributor to a Chicago White Sox fan website. Here's how an Internet post triggered a mass-media frenzy.

?ON AUG. 17 spataro51 posted on soxtalk.com: "... I am just repeating what was told through my source that I have through MLB that works with MLB's press releases. SO IF I AM NOT CORRECT ABOUT THIS DON"T KILL THE MESSENGER! I am hearing that 2 of baseballs biggest names will be announced friday [Aug. 19] after they tested positive for steroids, i guess they appealed just like [Rafael] palmeiro did and that is why it took so long for this to come out. I must also tell you that my source told me about palmeiro testing positive 2 days before they announced it, so i have a reason to believe he is also right this time. A starting pitcher (old) from the astros and a center fielder from the red sox have tested positive and they will be announced and suspended come friday."

?MANY POSTERS on Soxtalk immediately guessed that the "old" pitcher was Clemens and the centerfielder was Damon, and several sports blogs began extensive threads discussing the rumor, with direct links from fan websites to the soxtalk.com post. On NYYfans.com, a Yankees site, Mezmerize wrote, "Supposedly, there will be an announcement tomorrow stating Clemens and Johnny Damon (not by name via link, but deducable) have tested positive and will be suspended. Still a rumor at this point, but its coming from different places." TarHeelDAF, on the Cincinnati Reds' blog redreporter.com, added that the Clemens rumor "has apparently been confirmed by multiple sources inside MLB who say he is in the process of appealing."

?THE BUZZ about Clemens and Damon grew much louder once mainstream journalists picked up the rumor. Hours after the initial Soxtalk.com posting, the ESPN radio affiliate in Chicago referred to the rumor and indicated that an announcement from MLB was forthcoming.

?ON AUG. 19 the Boston Globe, Houston Chronicle and Los Angeles Times were among a dozen newspapers that published stories mentioning the rumor and naming Clemens and Damon. Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein was widely quoted, vehemently denying the rumors. "The reporting of this steroid issue," Epstein said, "has taken on witch-hunt proportions, and I think it's wrong. I'd like to think some actual reporting is going on." In the Chronicle, Selig said, "This isn't journalism's finest hour. Some people ought to be ashamed."

?NOT ONLY did Aug. 19 pass without an announcement from Selig, but major league officials said the rumors were "100 percent not true." With the hysteria subsiding, the Soxtalk moderator, YASNY, responded as follows to a suggestion from a poster that the site had libeled Clemens and Damon: "How about you stop worrying about Soxtalk's potential legal problems? It would also be appreciated if you would lay off people who try and contribute information to Soxtalk that may not be out there in the main stream media. Sometimes, this type of info is correct and sometimes it's not. That's the nature of the beast."