One of the RulesToLiveBy ...

Gossip is the practice of passing around unsubstantiated facts ... that is things that you do not know to be true.  Don't do it!  It's terribly tempting to pass on this or that juicy tidbit that you heard.  If for some reason you must do it -- make sure you tag it with "I don't know this to be true" or some other indication.

''This sounds like a certain practice Fox News has in saying, "Some say..."''

I sometimes have to pass on things I hear in my role as the Director of Engineering at a small company.  Some things that you hear may had good or bad effects on the company.  JoeFriday used to say JustTheFacts and that is a good policy.  --RaySchneider