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Never mind that the story had turned out to be lies and foolishness—there was always folks stupid enough to say, Where there's smoke there's fire, when the saying should have been, Where there's scandalous lies there's always malicious believers and spreaders-around, regardless of evidence.
Orson Scott Card
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote critiques the tendency of people to believe and spread rumors without seeking the truth.

Orson Scott Card's quote highlights the dangers of misinformation and the gullibility of individuals who accept falsehoods as truth. It suggests that, despite the lack of evidence, there will always be those who cling to sensational stories and propagate them, illustrating a profound commentary on human nature and the spread of gossip and lies in society.

Themes

LiesGossipTruthBeliefScandal

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about the impact of social media on the spread of false information.

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