---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: there is one situation worse than too…"
description: "\"“there is one situation worse than too much information: not enough of it. When hard news is scarce, rumors arise everywhere. Rumors don’t have to be t..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/gordon-g-chang-10335_internet_there-is-one-situation-worse-than-too-mu_2397292.jpg"
---

#  there is one situation worse than too much information…

![“there is one situation worse than too much information: not enough of it. When hard news is scarce, rumors arise everywhere. Rumors don’t have to be true, they just have to be spread. And these days the Internet is the channel for their communication.” quote by Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/gordon-g-chang-10335_internet_there-is-one-situation-worse-than-too-mu_2397292.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/gordon-g-chang-10335_internet_there-is-one-situation-worse-than-too-mu_2397292.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/gordon-g-chang-10335_internet_there-is-one-situation-worse-than-too-mu_2397292.jpg)

> ““there is one situation worse than too much information: not enough of it. When hard news is scarce, rumors arise everywhere. Rumors don’t have to be true, they just have to be spread. And these days the Internet is the channel for their communication.””

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Information overload can be worse than scarcity; lack of reliable data fuels rumors, especially online.

**In simple terms:** Too much or too little info harms.

Key Takeaway

Seek reliable sources, verify before sharing.

Themes

information rumors media

Mood

cautious informed

Type

journalistic practical

When to use this quote

- social media
- news consumption
- crisis management

Key Concepts

communication psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you discern reliable news?
- What steps can you take to stop spreading rumors?

A Different Perspective

Rumors spread quickly even when false.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Hard News](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-news-387561/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [News Scarce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/news-scarce-5991418/) [Rumors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rumors/) [Rumors Arise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rumors-arise-5991419/) [Scarce Rumors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scarce-rumors-5991417/) [Too much information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much-information/)

## Related quotes

> [If the breaking news story had to do with hard news, politics specifically, I had a lot to do with it. If it had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabitha-soren/if-the-breaking-news-story-had-to-do-with-hard-news-politics/)

[Tabitha Soren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabitha-soren/)

> [Hard news really is hard. It sticks not in the craw but in the mind. It has an almost physical effect, causing fear, interest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marr/hard-news-really-is-hard-it-sticks-not-in-the-craw-but-in-the-mind-it/)

[Andrew Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marr/)

> [It is hard news that catches readers. Features hold them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-harmsworth-1st-viscount-northcliffe/it-is-hard-news-that-catches-readers-features-hold-them/)

[Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-harmsworth-1st-viscount-northcliffe/)

> [I feel no compulsion to be a pundit. As a matter of fact, I really don't have that much to say about most things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/i-feel-no-compulsion-to-be-a-pundit-as-a-matter-of-fact-i-really-don/)

[Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/)

> [What happened was very sad. Mr. Lacey told the staff that he was disappointed and appalled that the front of the book was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-schanberg/what-happened-was-very-sad-mr-lacey-told-the-staff-that-he-was/)

[Sydney Schanberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-schanberg/)

> [I think that what people want from cable news channels is the sense that if there's hard news, it's going to come up immediately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brit-hume/i-think-that-what-people-want-from-cable-news-channels-is-the-sense/)

[Brit Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brit-hume/)

> [I am a hard-news journalist. That is what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-crowley/i-am-a-hard-news-journalist-that-is-what-i-do/)

[Candy Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-crowley/)

> [“Today’s hard news stories were yesterday’s dystopian SF. Rereading”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-cadigan/today-s-hard-news-stories-were-yesterday-s-dystopian-sf-rereading/)

[Pat Cadigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-cadigan/)

> [When I worked in Los Angeles covering hard news, very often when something important would happen I'd be off in the woods covering something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kuralt/when-i-worked-in-los-angeles-covering-hard-news-very-often-when/)

[Charles Kuralt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kuralt/)

> [If you've got a big star like O'Reilly, it does overshadow what the hard-news guys do during the day. That's the nature of television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ailes/if-you-ve-got-a-big-star-like-o-reilly-it-does-overshadow-what-the/)

[Roger Ailes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ailes/)

> [There are many great outlets that we love and respect, but 'The North Star' really is going to be a hard news outlet with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-king/there-are-many-great-outlets-that-we-love-and-respect-but-the-north/)

[Shaun King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-king/)

> [TMI? Too Much Information. It”s just easier to say 'TMI'. I used to say 'don't go there', but that's lame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/tmi-too-much-information-it-s-just-easier-to-say-tmi-i-used-to-say/)

[Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/)

> [I think a lot of films do themselves a disfavor by putting in way too much information, and everyone knows what's gonna happen next,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-olsen/i-think-a-lot-of-films-do-themselves-a-disfavor-by-putting-in-way-too/)

[Elizabeth Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-olsen/)

> [“Too much information creates the same result as too little:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-allen/too-much-information-creates-the-same-result-as-too-little/)

[David Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-allen/)

> [There's no mystery any more. So my instinct is to show very little, because there's much too much information about everyone, everywhere right now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/feist/there-s-no-mystery-any-more-so-my-instinct-is-to-show-very-little/)

[Feist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/feist/)

## More by Gordon G. Chang

> [“in the words of jurist John Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court, “the power to tax involves the power to destroy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/in-the-words-of-jurist-john-marshall-of-the-u-s-supreme-court-the/)

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

> [“Yet Zhongguancun pales when measured against India’s Bangalore, where government-sponsored development efforts started at about the same time. Today Bangalore produces original product, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/yet-zhongguancun-pales-when-measured-against-india-s-bangalore-where/)

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

> [“the traditionally used ratios of deficit to GDP and total debt to GDP, as computed using the official numbers, grossly overstate how much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/the-traditionally-used-ratios-of-deficit-to-gdp-and-total-debt-to-gdp/)

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

> [“as long as our dreams outweigh our memories, America will be forever young”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/as-long-as-our-dreams-outweigh-our-memories-america-will-be-forever/)

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

> [“China will make real progress in the fight against corruption only when prosecution and conviction are separated from politics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/china-will-make-real-progress-in-the-fight-against-corruption-only/)

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

> [“The students who surrendered the square on the morning of June 4 could not begin to imagine, in those sad days of 1989, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/the-students-who-surrendered-the-square-on-the-morning-of-june-4/)

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

> [“Consider these words from Lech Wałęsa: In the past, you could stand with a gun behind a man who had a pick and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/consider-these-words-from-lech-wa-sa-in-the-past-you-could-stand-with/)

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

> [“Before laissez-faire there was wu wei. “Practise not doing and everything will fall into place,” says the Tao Te Ching, Taoism’s primer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/before-laissez-faire-there-was-wu-wei-practise-not-doing-and/)

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

> [“at any given time about 30 percent of the stocks on China’s markets are being manipulated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/at-any-given-time-about-30-percent-of-the-stocks-on-china-s-markets/)

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

> [“Restraint, however, is the essence of modern governance. A government’s self-control permits its people to create, explore, and discover, and that’s what allows a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/restraint-however-is-the-essence-of-modern-governance-a-government-s/)

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

> [“Until the tide goes out you don’t know who’s swimming naked. —WARREN BUFFETT”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/until-the-tide-goes-out-you-don-t-know-who-s-swimming-naked-warren/)

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

> [“Communism went against life, against man’s fundamental needs, against the need for freedom, the need to be enterprising, to associate freely against the will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/communism-went-against-life-against-man-s-fundamental-needs-against/)

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

> [“The Maoist mechanisms of social control have been loosened. A totalitarian state has become merely an authoritarian one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/the-maoist-mechanisms-of-social-control-have-been-loosened-a/)

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

> [“Although China is short of the people it really needs—scientists, economists, doctors, teachers, practically everybody, in fact, except Indian chiefs—it employs its best and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/although-china-is-short-of-the-people-it-really-needs-scientists/)

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

> [“Crime wouldn’t pay if the government ran it. —UNKNOWN”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/crime-wouldn-t-pay-if-the-government-ran-it-unknown/)

[Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

[Explore all 66 Gordon G. Chang quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/)

## More Internet quotes

> [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/)

[Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/)

> [I enjoy upsetting the right people. I love poking fun at earnest censors. I want to push the bounds of what can be said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/i-enjoy-upsetting-the-right-people-i-love-poking-fun-at-earnest/)

[Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/)

> [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/)

[Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/)

> [Though 'Fat City' was written long before cellphones or the Internet, its human apparatus is state of the art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/though-fat-city-was-written-long-before-cellphones-or-the-internet/)

[Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/)

> [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/)

[Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/)

> [Note to self: If you do not know how to spell a big scary spiders name, DO NOT look it up on the internet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-eisele/note-to-self-if-you-do-not-know-how-to-spell-a-big-scary-spiders-name/)

[Becky Eisele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-eisele/)

> [I remembered reading about a disease called Leishmaniasis, which matched my symptoms. I'd always thought it was an old wives' tale - a sand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fogle/i-remembered-reading-about-a-disease-called-leishmaniasis-which/)

[Ben Fogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fogle/)

> [The Internet lets thousands of total strangers collaborate to produce a truly hivelike result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/the-internet-lets-thousands-of-total-strangers-collaborate-to-produce/)

[Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/)

> [People are reading more and writing more because of the internet. So the virtual world is a way for me to listen to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-are-reading-more-and-writing-more-because-of-the-internet-so/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [I don't have faith in the Internet, I have faith in people connected through the Internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gilliam/i-don-t-have-faith-in-the-internet-i-have-faith-in-people-connected/)

[Jim Gilliam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gilliam/)

> [The internet is very democratizing in some ways, but it also has other effects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/the-internet-is-very-democratizing-in-some-ways-but-it-also-has-other/)

[David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/)

> [One of the Internet's highest-profile companies, Priceline once dreamed of transforming the way consumer goods are bought and sold by offering customers the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/one-of-the-internet-s-highest-profile-companies-priceline-once/)

[Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/)

> [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/)

[Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/)

> [“Some innovations just don’t attract enough economic or social demand: just as supersonic flight and manned space flight stagnated after the 1970s, today (in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-j-rees/some-innovations-just-don-t-attract-enough-economic-or-social-demand/)

[Martin J. Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-j-rees/)

> [Moveon is not a one-way broadcast media. The Internet, when used best, is a two-way media. We have a forum in which people can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-blades/moveon-is-not-a-one-way-broadcast-media-the-internet-when-used-best/)

[Joan Blades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-blades/)

[Browse all 9,049 Internet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“there is one situation worse than too much information: not enough of it. When hard news is scarce, rumors arise everywhere. Rumors don’t have to be true, they just have to be spread. And these days the Internet is the channel for their communication.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Gordon G. Chang"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/there-is-one-situation-worse-than-too-much-information-not-enough-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Internet"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/there-is-one-situation-worse-than-too-much-information-not-enough-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/gordon-g-chang-10335_internet_there-is-one-situation-worse-than-too-mu_2397292.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/gordon-g-chang-10335_internet_there-is-one-situation-worse-than-too-mu_2397292.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/gordon-g-chang-10335_internet_there-is-one-situation-worse-than-too-mu_2397292.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“there is one situation worse than too much information: not enough of it. When hard news is scarce, rumors…” — Gordon G. Chang",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Gordon G. Chang",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“there is one situation worse than...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/there-is-one-situation-worse-than-too-much-information-not-enough-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/there-is-one-situation-worse-than-too-much-information-not-enough-of/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
