Spread the rumour, initially, in all directions (6)
I believe the answer is:
strewn
'spread' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'the rumour initially in all directions' is the wordplay.
'initially' says to take the initial letters.
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'all directions' becomes 'sewn' (compass directions**).
The initial letters of 'the rumour' is 'tr'.
'tr' put within 'sewn' is 'STREWN'.
(Other definitions for strewn that I've seen before include "Dispersed" , "Distributed" , "Scattered about like autumn leaves" , "Scattered about, littered" , "Scattered over an area" .)