According to this BBC story, a Colombian mayor has outlawed gossip in his small town.

But there's actually a serious side to the story.

An excerpt:

Ignacio Jimenez, mayor of Icononzo, 70km (40 miles) south-west of the capital Bogota, said false rumours can cost lives in Colombia.

He said several people have been jailed after being accused "purely by gossip" of being members of an armed group.

One regional official said gossip "had caused as much damage to the province as violence itself".

Fatal rumours

"It's a tradition for gossip to spread through small towns and it's a part of life, but what is worrying is that people are going to jail or being murdered due to gossip," Mr Jimenez told AP news agency.