Handling gossips

When somebody around you starts spreading gossips about a person or an event, the most constructive way to handle them is to talk about ideas behind the object of the gossip.

This can be done by asking "why" relentlessly.

Why are our neighbors fighting?
Why is he so successful?
Why doesn't she trust me?

This way it's no longer a gossip - it's a debate of ideas, a culture - food for the brain.