In Claude Shannon’s Information Theory, the bit is the fundamental unit of information—a binary distinction that quantifies uncertainty and enables the encoding and transmission of data across communication systems.

In a similar way, within the Nostr protocol, the event serves as the basic unit of intention between two or more intentional parties. An event that is cryptographically signed by a party is a declaration of subjective truth—it represents a fact in the minimal sense that someone intentionally authored and authenticated it.

In contrast, an unsigned event lacks attribution and accountability, rendering it a rumour: an unverifiable statement with no grounding in demonstrable intent. Importantly, the distinction between facts and rumours in this model is not about objective truth—truth lies beyond the protocol’s scope.

It is up to each intentional party, informed by social information and context, to evaluate which signed events they accept as true, which they reject, and which they disregard. Thus, Nostr provides a formal structure for recording intentions, while leaving the determination of truth to human judgment.