Gossip

Lots of people get their news from word of mouth.  This can sometimes be in the form of gossip. Gossip can be reliable, but more often, it is not. Some gossip is true, and other gossip isn't. It is just mean spirited talk. Gossip, no matter how it is started, is told, and retold. Even if at first it is  the facts,  it is bent and twisted to be easier to tell until it hardly sounds like it did in the beginning.          

According to the American Heritage High School Dictionary: n. 1.  rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature (trivial, chatty talk or writing)