In a crowd people become impulsive, lose rationality and are easily led by social contagion.
Imagine you are at a concert and everyone is shouting a song. Even if you don't like it, you might start shouting too. Le Bon says that in a crowd, ideas spread like a virus, and people lose rational control. It's like when all kids in class laugh at a bad joke, and you laugh too without knowing why.
Why it matters Today, this concept explains why false information spreads quickly on social media.