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ANTHROPOLOGY

Which accusations stick?

The social function of witchcraft accusations remains opaque. An empirical study of Chinese villagers shows that the label ‘z hu’influences who interacts across a social network, but appears not to tag defectors in service of promoting cooperation. An open question thus remains: from witchcraft to gossip, which accusations stick?

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Correspondence to Jillian J. Jordan.

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Jordan, J.J. Which accusations stick?. Nat Hum Behav 2, 19–20 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0274-3

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