Rumour Propagation as a Form of Social Control. A Case from Dictatorial Chile

In: Journal of modern European history: Zeitschrift für moderne europäische Geschichte = Revue d'histoire européenne contemporaine, Volume 10, Issue 3, p. 391-411

Abstract

Rumour Propagation as a Form of Social Control. A Case from Dictatorial Chile The following article discusses the role of media and civilian organisations in downplaying the role of rumour propagation in the Chilean dictatorship. After outright repression failed to control popular unrest during the national protests that took place between 1983 and 1984, the military regime attempted to keep people inside their homes by playing on their fears and prejudices. We focus here on an episode that occurred in September 1983, when residents of a working class neighbourhood were led to believe that they would be attacked by the populace of the surrounding area. After the protest was over, the actions of state agents and unknown civilians in propagating the rumour were publicised through the opposition press and widely condemned by relevant national figures. In the end, the effectiveness of this sort of social control by the military government was greatly jeopardised by the existence of relatively strong independent media and civil organisations with considerable resources for gathering and verifying information. In this article, we not only discuss how the rumour was propagated and why it worked, but also consider the question why rumour placement as a policing strategy finally failed to produce its intended effects in the late dictatorial period.