A rumor that reaches you first is still a rumor. Check it before you act on it.

Hearing something first feels like being informed, but the order in which news reaches you says nothing at all about whether it is true. Early versions are usually the least checked ones. If you act on it straight away, you also become part of why other people believe it, which is a strange thing to sign up for by accident.

Before you repeat it or change how you treat someone, ask one question: who told them. If the trail goes cold in two steps, it is gossip. Where you can, go to the person it is about, and ask plainly rather than circling.