History Main / InsidiousRumorMill

* The backstory of Yu Ishigami from ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' plays with this trope in two notable instances. In middle school, he was friends with a girl who had a boyfriend cheating behind her back. When Yu confronted the guy about it and punched him for his treatment of the girl, the boyfriend started making Yu out to be the bad guy and started telling everyone that he was a possessive StalkerWithACrush, which ostracized Yu and got him suspended. [[spoiler:Inverted later on in the story, when Yu's crush Tsubame Koyasu employed the same technique and had all of the notable and popular third years spread a modified version of the truth throughout school to clear his reputation.]]

** What Cady and Janis do to Regina in order to dethrone her as AlphaBitch. While Cady doesn't really lie to Regina's friends and boyfriend about her awful behavior, Cady and Janis explicitly manipulate them using similar tactics that Regina uses to wrap the entire school around her finger and effectively [[BackstabbingTheAlphaBitch Backstab The Alpha Bitch]]. Fittingly she [[BecomingTheMask replaces]] [[FaceHeelTurn Regina]] as the new AlphaBitch.

* ''[[LightNovel/OkamiSan Okami-san and her Seven Companions]]'', both the light novel and anime adaptation. After Ryoko Ookami is [[AttemptedRape nearly raped by her date]] Hitsujikai, he tells the rest of their school that he dumped her so that when she tries to warn them what he had done to her, none of them believe her. It is worth noting that the story opens a few years later, with Hitsujikai now the Student Council President for Onigashima High, a school for delinquents and trouble makers, and his past history completely scrubbed from the records. [[FridgeHorror One wonders how many of the other girls learned Ryoko was telling the truth the hard way.]]

[[folder: Anime & Manga]]

* ''Manga/PeachGirl'': One of [[BitchInSheepsClothing Sae's]] specialties. She isolated Momo ''before even meeting her'' by spreading a rumor that Momo was absent from school due to a teen pregnancy. Sae uses this to become Momo's sole [[FalseFriend friend]] and ruin her life by continuously spreading rumors to support the idea [[ReallyGetsAround she's easy]], which makes all of their classmates [[SlutShaming shun her]] and keeps Momo from getting together with her crush Toji. When Sae's lies are eventually revealed, the whole school shuns her.

* ''Manga/PeachGirl'': One of [[BitchInSheepsClothing Sae's]] specialties. She isolated Momo ''before even meeting her'' by spreading a rumor that Momo was absent from school due to a teen pregnancy. Sae uses this to become Momo's sole [[FalseFriend friend]] and ruin her life by continuously spreading rumors to support the idea [[SlutShaming she's easy]] and keeping Momo from getting together with her crush Toji. When her lies are eventually revealed, the whole school shuns her.

* The backstory of Yu Ishigami from ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar plays with this trope in two notable instances. In middle school, he was friends with a girl who had a boyfriend cheating behind her back. When Yu confronted the guy about it and punched him for his treatment of the girl, the boyfriend started making Yu out to be the bad guy and started telling everyone that he was a possessive StalkerWithACrush, which ostracized Yu and got him suspended. [[spoiler:Inverted later on in the story, when Yu's crush Tsubame Koyasu employed the same technique and had all of the notable and popular third years spread a modified version of the truth throughout school to clear his reputation.]]

* ''VideoGame/LoveSam'': The climax of the game involves two characters spreading malicious rumors about another to ruin her relationship with her boyfriend and reputation in school. Specifically, [[spoiler:DrivenByEnvy Kyle (with the help of his [[TheBeard girlfriend]] Stacy) spreads rumors on social media that Sam is a StalkerWithACrush for Brian who just got lucky enough to actually date the object of her obsession because [[ClosetedGay he's in love with Brian]] and wants to split the two up. He also spread the information that [[SinsOfMyFather Sam's dad is in prison for sexually abusing teens]]. Everyone at school is critical of Sam and Brian turns his back on her completely. Later, Stacy, thinking Kyle did all of that because he wanted to hook up with Sam, exposes Kyle for orchestrating the rumor mill and everyone, including Brian, shun him instead.]]

* ''VideoGame/LoveSam'': The climax of the game involves two characters spreading malicious rumors about another to ruin her relationship and reputation in school. Specifically, [[spoiler:DrivenByEnvy Kyle (with the help of his [[TheBeard girlfriend]] Stacy) spreads rumors on social media that Sam is a StalkerWithACrush for Brian who just got lucky enough to actually date the object of her obsession because [[ClosetedGay he's in love with Brian]] and wants to split the two up. He also spread the information that [[SinsOfMyFather Sam's dad is in prison for sexually abusing teens]]. Everyone at school is critical of Sam and Brian turns his back on her completely. Later, Stacy, thinking Kyle did all of that because he wanted to hook up with Sam, exposes Kyle for orchestrating the rumor mill and everyone, including Brian, shun him instead.]]

* ''VideoGame/LoveSam'': The climax of the game involves two characters spreading malicious rumors about another to ruin her relationship and reputation in school. Specifically, [[spoiler:DrivenByEnvy Kyle (with the help of his [[TheBeard girlfriend]] Stacy) decides to ruin Sam's relationship with Brian and her reputation by spreading rumors on social media that it is ''she'', [[ClosetedGay not he]], that is a StalkerWithACrush for Brian who just got lucky enough to actually date the object of her obsession. He also spread the information that [[SinsOfMyFather Sam's dad is in prison for sexually abusing teens]]. Everyone at school is critical of Sam and Brian turns his back on her completely. Later, Stacy, thinking Kyle did all of that because he wanted to hook up with Sam, exposes Kyle for orchestrating the rumor mill and everyone, including Brian, shun him instead.]]

* ''VideoGame/LoveSam'': The climax of the game involves two characters spreading malicious rumors about another to ruin her relationship and reputation in school. Specifically, [[spoiler:DrivenByEnvy Kyle (with the help of Stacy) decides to ruin Sam's relationship with Brian and her reputation by spreading rumors that it is ''she'', [[ClosetedGay not he]], that is an obsessive StalkerWithACrush for Brian who just got lucky enough to actually date the object of her affections. He also spread the information that Sam's dad sexually abused teens. The rumors get spread on social media with everyone critical of Sam and Brian turning his back on her completely. This leads to Sam confronting Kyle which ends with [[AccidentalMurder disastrous results for her]]. Kyle later gets exposed for orchestrating the rumor mill and everyone, including Stacy and Brian, shun him instead.]]

* ''VideoGame/LoveSam'': The climax of the game involves two characters spreading malicious rumors about another to ruin her relationship and reputation in school. Specifically, [[spoiler:DrivenByEnvy Kyle (with the help of Stacy) decides to ruin Sam's relationship with Brian and her reputation by spreading rumors that it is ''she'', [[ClosetedGay not he]], that is an obsessive StalkerWithACrush for Brian who just got lucky enough to actually date the object of her affections. He also spread the information that Sam's dad sexually abused teens. The rumors get spread on social media with everyone critical of Sam and Brian turning his back on her completely. This leads to Sam confronting Kyle which ends with [[AccidentalMurder disastrous results for her]].]]

* ''Series/BurdenOfTruth'': When she was a child, Joanna's father had her mentally ill mother committed and threatened to have her deported if she ever tried to contact Joanna. Joanna grew up thinking her mother had abandoned her not knowing they were being deliberately kept apart by her father and learning the truth [[BrokenPedestal shatters]] whatever respect she had for him.

* ''Series/GossipGirl'': After learning she has been waitlisted to Yale, Blair turns her ire against CoolTeacher Rachel Carr for giving Blair a B on an essay, ruining Blair's perfect grades. When Blair's initial plan to humiliate Rachel fails, Blair uses Gossip Girl to start a rumor that Rachel is having an affair with Dan. Once again, this backfires as she is quickly discovered as the source of the lie and is expelled from Constance, effectively ruining her chances at Yale. [[TheDeterminator But Blair persists]], doubling down on her lie to her father, who pushes the issue on her behalf at the next PTA meeting. Some circumstantial evidence later, and Rachel is fired from Constance while Blair is reinstated. [[spoiler: It does not stick since the parents realize they don't have enough evidence and Rachel is rehired out of fear of a wrongful termination suit. Which sucks for her since in her panic at being fired, [[DramaticIrony she and Dan made the rumor a reality by sleeping together]].]]

* ''Literature/ElementalSeriesKemmerer'': Becca's ex-boyfriend Drew spread rumors about her [[ReallyGetsAround getting around a lot]], leading to a lot of unwanted attention for her.

* The short story "Un Capitano Moro" from Cinthio's ''Hecatommithi'' is one of the direct inspirations for Shakespeare's ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'', however the Ensign's (Iago in Shakespeare's adaptation) motives for [[ManipulativeBastard manipulating]] the Moorish Captain (Othello) are quite different. In this story, the Ensign falls in love with the Captain's wife Desdemona, but she naturally rejects him. This spurs him into planting the rumor that Desdemona is cheating on the Captain with the Corporal (Cassio) out of jealous spite and [[TreacherousAdvisor convincing the Captain]] of such, later aiding him in bludgeoning Desdemona to death. ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'', on the other hand, averts this trope by removing the Ensign's feelings for Desdemona and making Othello the intended victim of Iago's schemes rather than just an UnwittingPawn.
* ''{{Literature/Curtain}}'': [[spoiler:Stephen Norton]] is a sociopath who gets his kicks out of manipulating his peers in [[GenteelInterbellumSetting genteel society]] to murder each other, allowing him to get rid of someone with no risk of detection. He does so by making an InnocentlyInsensitive comment at the right moment to push his victim over the edge and informing others about seeing something he actually didn't.

---> '''Harold:''' But why do you think people start those rumors?
--->'''Marian:''' Narrow-mindedness, jealousy -- jealousy mostly, I guess.
---> '''Harold:''' Exactly. And jealousy mostly starts rumors about travelling salesmen.

* In ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'', one of the ways the player can eliminate one rival for her ''sempai'''s affection is to start a vicious rumor mill leading her to being bullied to death.

Running an Insidious Rumor Mill involves lying and telling half-truths and/or omitting relevant favorable details about another person within one's same social circle in order to turn that circle against them, isolating, [[SilentTreatment ostracizing]], and ideally, ousting the victim from the group entirely. Unlike with {{Gaslighting}}, the goal isn't to get the victim to believe your lies and narrative, it's to get as many people you both care about to view them as so despicable, petty, or toxic that they are not to be trusted [[CassandraTruth even if they are telling the truth]]. It's character assassination designed to emotionally destroy the victim by cutting them off of their support network, made possible because it's also ''your'' support network.

* ''Manga/{{Mars}}'': For most of his life, Rei was convinced his father Takayuki was a cold, unloving, father who did not care about him. When Takayuki finally makes an appearance in the story, he's awkwardly distant with Rei only because he knows how much Rei dislikes him. In reality, he's very understanding and is stern out of reasonable concern for Rei, what with Sei's suicide, [[spoiler:Rei's mom's attempt at killing him and Sei before killing herself when the twins were young]], and Rei's [[DeathSeeker self-destructive tendencies]] and love of [[ThrillSeeker competitive]] [[SpeedDemon motorbike racing]]. Rei comes to realize later that he first began to think of his dad as mean and cold because his mother used to tell him and Sei that all of the time when they were kids [[spoiler:all because she was still in love with Takayuki's deceased brother Akihiko and resented being married to Takayuki]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fanfiction, [[FandomSpecificPlot/MiraculousLadybug this became a]] FandomSpecificPlot in the aftermath of the episode "Chameleon", in which a ConsummateLiar bully named Lila Rossi threatens [[TheHero Marinette Dupain-Cheng]] that she will destroy all of her friendships in response [[DisproportionateRetribution to Marinette pointing out her (quite outrageous) lies]]. Given the FanNickname of "Salt Fic", stories with this plot often start with Lila as the AlphaBitch, having climbed her way to the top by lying, with the rest of the class either telling Marinette to lay off Lila at best or bullying Marinette into submission at worst. Examples of this class of story include ''Fanfic/BurningBridgesBuildingConfidence'' and ''Fanfic/RaiseYourVoiceAgainstLiars''.

* ''WesternAnimation/BigMouth'': In Season 5, Missy gets angry at Jessi and Ali for upstaging Missy at a protest she started. After being ''literally'' consumed by a hate word, Missy anonymously spreads a rumor online that Ali cheated on her girlfriend with Jessi, turning everyone against them and prompting Ali to fight Missy physically.

* In the musical ''Theatre/{{Thirteen}}'', after Evan plays matchmaker for Brett and Kendra, Brett's jealous ex-girlfriend spreads a rumor that Kendra is cheating on Brett with Evan.

--> '''Harold:''' But why do you think people start those rumors?
-->'''Marian:''' Narrow-mindedness, jealousy -- jealousy mostly, I guess.
--> '''Harold:''' Exactly. And jealousy mostly starts rumors about travelling salesmen.

Depending on how much of what one says are BlatantLies versus half-truths, this is often a "high risk, high reward" ploy since it can unravel by enough people asking for (and believing in) the other side of the story. In cases in which multiple conflicting lies were told, someone [[PullingTheThread comparing notes]] to realize something is amiss would also reveal the deception, as in a FawltyTowersPlot. It's also possible for the victim to find a way to [[ClearMyName clear their name]] and if the protagonist is the victim of this ploy, then they almost certainly will. The ensuing reveal is likely to cause those that were manipulated to turn on the one that ran the mill to begin with. If that person was well-regarded, expect there to be many a BrokenPedestal.

Depending on how much of what one says are BlatantLies versus half-truths, this is often a "high risk, high reward" ploy since it can unravel by enough people asking for (and believing in) the other side of the story or, if multiple conflicting lies were told, comparing notes to realize something is amiss. It's also possible for the victim to find a way to [[ClearMyName clear their name]] and if the protagonist is the victim of this ploy, then they almost certainly will. The ensuing reveal is likely to cause those that were manipulated to turn on the one that ran the mill to begin with. If that person was well-regarded, expect there to be many a BrokenPedestal.

That is, if you tell the truth. Lying or manipulating your shared friends and family to view you as the sympathetic party is always an option. If you choose to do so, congratulations, you've just run an insidious rumor mill.

Running an insidious rumor mill involves lying and telling half-truths and/or omitting relevant favorable details about another person within one's same social circle in order to turn that circle against them, isolating, [[SilentTreatment ostracizing]], and ideally, ousting the victim from the group entirely. Unlike with {{Gaslighting}}, the goal isn't to get the victim to believe your lies and narrative, it's to get as many people you both care about to view them as so despicable, petty, or toxic that they are not to be trusted [[CassandraTruth even if they are telling the truth]]. It's character assassination designed to emotionally destroy the victim by cutting them off of their support network, made possible because it's also ''your'' support network.