The Securities and Exchange Commission will investigate a false report that claimed Steve Jobs had suffered a major heart attack, according to Bloomberg News. The report was posted on the CNN iReport "citizen journalism" website this morning, but was quickly removed.
Apple's stock price dropped from a high of just over $106 this morning to just under $98 in a matter of minutes, before recovering most of those losses. The drop wiped more than $7 billion from Apple's market capitalization.
The agency is trying to determine if the iReport story was intended to push down Apple's stock price, or was just a prank.
The stock is back down trading around $98 this afternoon, but that's mostly a result of movement in the rest of the market, not because of the rumor.
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Comments
1st Tweets ~ Steve Jobs Heart Attack ~ Timeline/Chart... http://tweetip.us/lkq3e
cnn.com and other news outlets need the people to report the news nowaday to stay alive in the 21st century information war. They are no longer the only few sources people watch when it comes to news. The government is making sure people report every news article with fact check and accuracy, there will be no rumor or parody. The fact that this news is in iReport should be a disclaimer of its validity and source. I don't see why the SEC is involved. Does the SEC go to every blogger who have more than 1 million users reader and make sure they don't spread rumors or write what they think is on their mind?
Government likes to do mind control like 1984.
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