1.1 Why Was Barbie Hsu’s Life Persistently Surrounded by Rumors? Public Issues Beneath the Headlines

Public Issues Beneath the Headlines | Sisyphus Express: In Depth

Sisyphus Express

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Note: This episode was first published on March 31, 2025.

Welcome to Sisyphus Highway: In Depth.

This chapter begins with Barbie Hsu, also known as Big S.

Ever since her debut, Barbie Hsu remained in the public eye and was persistently surrounded by rumor. False stories about her marriage, family, property, health, and even events after her death appeared and circulated without end. Rather than subsiding after she died, they continued to intensify, prompting us to reconsider the problem of rumor.

Over the next seven episodes, we begin with Barbie Hsu to examine how rumors are produced, what drives them, and how they spread. We then extend the discussion to cultural and public-opinion environments across the Taiwan Strait, changes in media, intimate relationships and gender narratives, rumors in history, information during the pandemic, and new problems that may emerge in the age of AI.

A rumor is information without a factual basis. In today’s rapidly changing media landscape, information travels far faster than it can be verified. Rumor follows a fundamental logic: what are we inclined to believe? Belief is shaped by many forces, large and small, visible and hidden, that gradually tip the balance.

Before entering those discussions, however, we want to return to Barbie Hsu herself.

Why did one performer’s death shake so many people so deeply? Why did she feel to many like an “on-screen friend” who had accompanied them through growing up? What links her densely lived, highly dramatic, exceptionally public life to the many rumors surrounding her?

In this episode, we begin with Barbie Hsu’s life and her relationship with a generation of viewers.