A superb simile to describe the velocity and trajectory of rumours, a watery version of ‘spreading like wild-fire’.  In the age of social media propagation, the speed gets speedier and the wake more likely to rock the boat of truth and reality. 

Rumours tore through like speed-boats, leaving a wake.

Source: Elizabeth Bowen, A Time in Rome (London: Vintage Books, 2010), p. 68

Photo credit: Adrian Diaz-Sieckel at unsplash