On the mathematical theory of rumor spread

The applicability of the theory of random nets to the theory of rumor spread is shown. In particular the “weak connectivity” of the net appears as the saturation fraction of “knowers” in a thoroughly mixed population through which a message diffuses where each knower tells the message to a finite average number of individuals. Further it is shown how the time course equation of rumor spread, where time is measured by the number of “removes” from the starters, can be translated into an ordinary continuous time course equation if the distribution of the telling intervals is known.