Abstract: Based on the database of rumors provided by the Tencent News platform, this study analyzes the themes and trends of 290
rumors during the covid-19 epidemic from January 18, 2020 to February 22, 2020, and explores the psychological motivations behind
the spread of rumors. The study found that, there are eight themes of rumors, with regard to prevention and treatment, social livelihood,
medical information, traffic control, epidemic spread, celebrity-related, conspiracy theory and rescue at home and abroad. The spread
of rumors has experienced six stages, i.e. the incubation period, the outbreak period, the temporary remission period, the small peak
period, the slow fading period, and the fading period. The psychological motives for the spread of rumors include panic under the
"severity of consequences", anger under the "social fairness", and anxiety under the "seeking certainty". Therefore, it is necessary to
put forward precise countermeasures according to different psychological factors to achieve the intervention of the public's negative
psychology status and the effective control of rumors.

Key words: COVID-19 epidemic, psychological motivations, themes of rumors