Celebrity Blind Items: The History, Popularity & Ethical Implications of Unverified Claims

Thank you so much to Jose Cuervo for sponsoring this episode. Buy Jose Cuervo here: https://www.danmurphys.com.au/list/jose-cuervo In this week's episode, I explore the culture of celebrity blind items— from its origins to its rising popularity in recent years and of course, the ethical implications of this type of gossip content. Timestamps: 00:32 Intro 4:55 What is a blind item? 6:17 The history of blind items 9:14 Crazy Days & Nights 11:57 Blind items & social media 14:02 Blind item TikTokers 14:57 Why have blind items become so popular lately? 15:11 Theory #1: Transparency of celebrity PR machine 19:25 Theory #2: The rise of misinformation & citizen journalism 23:28 Theory #3: The mainstream-ification of conspiracy theories 26:48 Theory #4: Blind items feed into our negativity bias 29:34 Conclusion: The ethical implications of blind items Find our podcast YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18HclY7Tt5-1e3Z-MEP7Jg  Subscribe to our weekly Substack: https://centennialworld.substack.com/  Join our Geneva home: https://links.geneva.com/invite/7eb23525-9259-4d59-95e3-b9edd35861a5  Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infinitescrollpodcast/  Follow Lauren on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenmeisner_/  Sources: Capote, T. (1974). Blind Items. In Ladies’ home journal (Vol. 91, Number 1, pp. 81-). Meredith Corporation. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-03-11/gossip-blind-items-from-tiktok-to-podcasts  https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/a62807688/town-topics-gilded-age-william-dalton-mann/  https://www.strikemagazines.com/blog-2-1/if-youve-heard-of-blind-items-youre-hot  https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2016/10/crazy-days-and-nights-enty-interview?srsltid=AfmBOopWGxKGjwCsg94XMK1Y3FrztW05VzgBK9koRUaBd2fw_Ab1jHdC  https://www.vulture.com/article/enty-lawyer-crazy-days-and-nights-john-nelson.html? https://www.huffpost.com/entry/crazy-days-and-nights-an-interview-with-the-elusive_b_5a57d145e4b0b1f4505c82ec  https://www.laineygossip.com/Home/Press#  https://www.elle.com/fashion/a60387426/musicians-eras-trend-2024/  https://centennialworld.com/deuxmoi-anonymous-user-submitted-gossip/