whisper-stream

A term describing the method by which information (whether true or false) flows through a society. Suggestive of the secrecy as well as the unpredictable and unstoppable nature of informal communication. Coined by author Andrew Vachss and first published in his book "Born Bad." The term differs from grapevine, which suggests individual truths, passed from person to person.

You can't trust everything you hear from the underground — the whisper-stream vacuums up everything, gold to garbage.

-"False Allegations" by Andrew Vachss (1997)

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