Thirteen pro-Russian and 13 anti-Russian items were administered, together with an attitude scale, to university students. In one form the items were labeled "confirmed facts"; in another, "rumors"; and in a third form there was no label. Students indicated degree of belief in each item on a 4-point scale. The "fact" label produced greater shift in belief than did the "rumor" label, but scepticism prevailed under all conditions. Existing attitudes toward Russia were reflected in the belief scores. The labeled statements were probably more suspect than if they had appeared in favorite papers or periodicals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)