Canadian Cholito

A funny thing happened on the way to the bank…

Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, signed a 12 year, $64 million contract yesterday – officially that is. For most rabid Canuck fans, the announcement was long overdue as rumours of him re-signing had surfaced as early as June. In fact, if you just found out about Luongo signing yesterday, then you probably aren’t a real Canuck fan.

Either that or you don’t have internet access.

It’s hard to determine exactly where the initial rumour was born, but I can tell you where it came to life: on the internet.

The internet, specifically social media, helped fuel the speculation and rumours that many fans and hockey pundits cited as “reports”. Hockey rumour blogs claimed Luongo would sign by July 1, crediting their “sources” for the insider information (is ESPN’s John Buccigross a source?). The same rumour popped up again more than a month later on Sportsnet.ca, with only a little more information, but seemingly more credible. Again, I’m not sure where the initial rumour began (*cough* Team 1040), but it’s irrelevant.

Once the rumour was reported by a credible news outlet, it gained legitimacy and began to grow through the comments of every hockey blogger, forum member, or twitter user with an interest in Roberto Luongo and the Canucks.

Harmless, right? I mean, does some kid with a webs.com account, writing anonymously from his parent’s basement, have enough credibility to influence anyone’s opinion?

Does it matter?

Spend 10 minutes on the HockeyBuzz.com forum and you’ll find an ironic situation: members participating in the forum to discuss the validity of hockey rumours that most of them think are 100% fabricated. Members actually sign on, attempt to discredit the blogger and his sources, but stay on the forum to discuss the rumour. Sure, the blogger’s reputation is questioned, but check out his page view stats. Fans keep coming back for more.

RT @legithockeyinsider I haz a sexy hokee rum3rZ!

The success of hockey rumour blogs, combined with the growth of Twitter, has spawned a weird breed of online rumour mongers. Some create accounts pretending to be hockey insiders. Some see opportunity and begin tweeting questionable tidbits of information to drive traffic to their own website. Others go as far as pretending to be the actual player himself (a fake Roberto Luongo account was recently suspended, but not before the fooling the Vancouver Sun).

That information is then collected by fans and shared with thousands of others on hockey forums, where they spend days, even weeks, dissecting every aspect of said rumour, and add their own opinion.

As the voice of the people continues to grow, an interesting thing occurs. Hockey blogs report on rumours that echoe almost exactly what was being discussed in the forums, but citing “sources inside the NHL”.

Then something even stranger happens.

“This just in: online rumours suck and we have the scoop on why they suck!”

Hockey-talk radio began discussing the unsubstantiated rumours, with a skeptical tone of course. The radio pundits talked ad nauseum about all of the different rumours floating around online, and they scrutinized, criticized and hypothesized while at the same time adding their own theories. Just by mentioning the rumours, they were in effect perpetuating the very rumours they were trying to dispel.

Meanwhile, things were getting intense in the hockey forums. The speculation, conspiracy theories and outright fabrications that were born on the site, now had legitimacy because they had been mentioned on the radio. Context didn’t matter – there was little concern about whether or not those theories were reported as fact – it was on the radio and that made it real.

By the time Luongo actually signed, CTV, CBC, Global, The Province and the Vancouver Sun, had already broken the story the day before. They all had contradicting reports about the terms of the contract, and their reports were sure to mention that the announcement wasn’t official yet, but virtually every news outlet had reported on the story.

Months of rumours bouncing from the fans, through social media, to traditional media and then back to the fans again. Like a summer-long game of broken telephone, participating in the discussion mattered more than providing actual facts.

Lighten up, it’s just hockey

In a hockey crazy city like Vancouver people need to fill their off-season NHL withdrawal with something. When you’re dealing with hockey fans, the source, validity or context of the rumour is less important than the rumour itself. Fans are constantly seeking new information, and providing an unsubstantiated rumour will go a long way in satiating their appetite for hockey-talk.

But does this seemingly harmless appetite for hockey news justify the cycle of misinformation?

With the current state of traditional media in North America, more and more people are turning to social media for their information. Even reporters are turning to Twitter to seek sources, or confirm information. With the growth of social media, we all have a responsibility to question sources and share information with some validity.

It’s not enough to sit back and point fingers anymore.

I’m not suggesting that traditional news outlets aren’t doing their homework. But I think they are feeling the pressure from the immediacy of social media, which in turn drives some reporters to compete for the scoop. But if everyone is recycling the same rumour, where is the real news? Better yet, where is the accountability?