As you report, Derek Rucker and David Dubois of the Kellogg School of Management, and Zakary Tormala of Stanford Business School, all psychologists, are advising businesses that denying false rumors is unwise (“How Firms Should Fight Rumors,” February 12, 2011). Rumors are impossible to stop, as witnessed by Coca Cola that has been fighting for years all sorts of silly rumors in the Middle East without any success. For instance, one of the myths is that Coke’s Arabic logo read backwards says: “No Muhammad - No Mecca.” Trying to stop it only helps spread it. Instead, a company should put out a stream of positive messages about itself. “This deprives myths of oxygen,” you explain, “and also nudges people to doubt nasty things they may hear about the company in question.” Excellent news, this. Is there any difference between businesses and governments, though? I can already imagine streams of positive messages about many troubled governments coming up soon. And governments certainly have the means to deprive many a silly myth of oxygen.