Word-engineer hat on:

> The grapevine was (...), and all those grapes contained the juice of the same message: Jarred was a stinky manager.

Per exact words these two are different:

    - I think someone is stinky
    - I spoke with people who said someone is stinky 

i.e. I might myself not share the sentinment, or not know anything about it, or simply not engage - relay is not an opinion in itself.