When a "journalist" says "there is a rumor that X", is it even false? After all, once a journalist said it, the rumor exists. Bad PR is easy to generate and if

When a "journalist" says "there is a rumor that X", is it even false? After all, once a journalist said it, the rumor exists. Bad PR is easy to generate and if media consumers are stupid and lazy enough, they'll buy it. The Potterverse is a tale of what happens when there are no adults in the world at all - when all people behave like twelve year olds all the time. Annihilation of all life on Earth is prevented by authorial fiat.