Twitter repudiates fake acquisition story
The hoax, disguised as a Bloomberg story, caused shares to jump more than 8 percent.
A website imitating Bloomberg Business published a fake report titled, “Twitter attracts suitors,” which claimed that a takeover offer was on the table for $31 billion.
A quick scan of the report (and its “Bloomberg.market” URL) would have told anyone who’s even remotely Internet savvy that the site—and therefore the story—were fake. The article also misspelled former CEO Dick Costolo’s name.
Still, Twitter stock spiked more than 8 percent, starting at around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday:
Twitter moving higher on a fake buyout story. This seems to be the new scam. Fake rumors. Be careful. $twtr
— Ross Gerber (@GerberKawasaki) July 14, 2015
BREAKING: Twitter denies report of potential deal after fake news report caused stock to rise nearly 8%. • $TWTR
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today
Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.
