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Byline: Travis M. Andrews, Jonathan Edwards, Samantha Chery Everyone, take a deep breath. Beyoncé did not appear at the Democratic National Convention. That sentence, which is also true of millions [...]

Byline: Isaac Stanley-BeckerAll politicians are subject to rumors and recrimination.But few have had to answer for the sort of tall tales being told about the president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, [...]

Byline: Emily Wax-Thibodeaux Democratic lawmakers demanded clarity Wednesday on 'who's calling the shots' at the Department of Veterans Affairs, lamenting reports of VA Secretary David Shulkin's impending ouster and attacking [...]

Byline: Andrew Roth and James McAuley MOSCOW -- As seen through a Russian television set, the upcoming French elections are the dirtiest in history, a shameful public display of the [...]

Byline: David Weigel PHILADELPHIA -- There were always rumors, but this year's were something else. Politico reported that white nationalists would sneak liquor and marijuana into the city's blackest precincts. [...]

Byline: Erik Wemple The more Michael Wolff talks about his book 'Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,' the more copies he sells and the more he exposes his [...]

Byline: Kim Yi Dionne After attending the United Nations General Assembly last month, Malawi President Peter Mutharika has yet to return home. Malawians are wondering where he is and why [...]

Byline: Sabra Ayres Reporting on a fast-moving civil unrest like the one here in Ukraine is never easy. There are many moving parts, which sometimes are at a standstill and [...]

MEXICO CITY -- Like a tropical storm, rumors about the failing health of Fidel Castro strengthened, swirled, dissipated and left everyone guessing again on Friday, as a doctor in Florida [...]

Byline: DOUG SAUNDERS FRANCE ELECTION LONDON -- As France's presidential election enters its final days, the media seem to have focused on one burning question: Which candidate's bête is more [...]

BEIJING -- China started a sweeping crackdown of its vibrant social networking media over the weekend, detaining six people, closing 16 Web sites and shutting off the comment function for [...]

The stubborn yet false rumor that President Obama's health care proposals would create government-sponsored 'death panels' to decide which patients were worthy of living seemed to arise from nowhere in […]

Crude and oil product prices swung wildly Thursday as a rumor circulated among traders that Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi had died. The White House and the International Energy Administration (IEA) [...]

'I demand that the Georgian law-enforcement bodies take tough measures against 'information diversion' aimed at breaking the interests of Georgian statehood,' President Eduard Shevardnadze said in his weekly radio interview [...]

The Scottish National Party suspended one of its councillors, Richard Vassie, indefinitely on Aug. 12, 1997, over allegations that he was involved in the hate campaign against Labour Member of Parliament Gordon McMaster. Vassie is alleged to have told a newspaper that McMaster had an affair with a boy. McMaster committed suicide in Jul. 1997, leaving a note blaming Labour MP Tommy Graham and Labour peer Lord Dixon for orchestrating a whispering campaign that he was gay and was dying of Aids. Labour Chief Whip Nick Brown has begun an investigation into McMaster's death.

The death of Gordon McMaster, Labour Member of Parliament for Paisley South, on Jul. 28, 1997, threatens to lift the lid on political hatred and dirty tricks in a town described by a seasoned observer on Jul. 29, 1997, as the cess-pit of Scottish politics. McMaster, who was suffering from a debilitating ME-style illness brought on by exposure to organo-phosphates, had been the victim of vicious rumours. McMaster is said to have known the identity of the person responsible for spreading the rumours which were totally untrue but included allegations that he was gay and that he had Aids.

Unfounded rumours about well-known politicians are likely to continue to flourish despite efforts to legislate against invasion of privacy. Ill-founded rumours about Prime Minister Major having an affair echo similar stories about Prime Minister Wilson in 1964. Such gossip seems to arise when the public perceive the government as incompetent. Reaction to the gossip about Major has brought all Members of Parliament together in condemnation of the press so that the Press Bill was passed by a large majority. However, gagging the press will not stop rumours.