A screenshot of the fake Bloomberg website that posted a story claiming Twitter would be bought out for $31 billion.
A website designed to look like Bloomberg.com posted a fake story Tuesday morning that claimed Twitter would soon be bought out for $31 billion.
The website, bloomberg.market, caused a rapid rise in the value of Twitter’s stock.
Bloomberg spokesman Ty Trippet said the story is fake and the website is not associated with the company.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Twitter’s Stock Rose by as Much as 8.5 Percent
A banner with the logo of Twitter is set on the front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on November 7, 2013 in New York. (Getty)
According to the real Bloomberg News website, the fake story sent Twitter’s stock on a rapid rise. It went up as much as 8.5 percent after the fake story broke.
Pls note – that $TWTR story everyone talking about is fake. http://t.co/pUVhIBUaZe
The story was posted at 11:36 a.m. on the fake website.
2. The Stock’s Value Dipped Back Down After the Story Was Reported to be a Hoax
(Google Finance)
By 1:15 p.m., about an hour after the story was determined to be fake, the Twitter stock had dropped back down, but it was still higher than it’s opening value.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not yet commented on the hoax story. It would be the agency to investigate the incident.
3. The Hoax Story Claimed There Was ‘Interest’ From a Foreign Buyer
The fake story claimed that the information about the sale came from “people with knowledge of the situation.” The hoax story said Google has been named most likely to buy Twitter, but that there was “also strong interest from an un-named foreign buyer.”
There have already been rumors circulating that the company could be bought out. Co-founder Evan Williams was speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colorado, when the hoax story was posted. He was asked about the rumor and if he thought Twitter would be better off if it was sold.
“No, not at this time. There’s probably all kinds of legal things I have to know to answer that question properly,” he said, according to the Wall Street Journal. “So I’m just going to say there’s incredible potential with Twitter…blah, blah, blah,”
4. The Fake Report Was Circulated by CNBC
The stocks rise came after CNBC reported on the story, according to TheStreet.com. CNBC didn’t confirm that the report was correct, but attributed it to Bloomberg. It did point out that the story spelled former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo’s name incorrectly (it was spelled Costello).
CNBC later retracted its story after the “Bloomberg” report was determined to be a hoax.
5. A Similar Hoax Drove Up the Value of Avon Products in May
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced in June that a Bulgarian man, Nedko Nedev, produced phony buyout offers for Avon Products in order to increase the value of the company’s stock, USA Today reports.
The fake buyout offers, posted in the market regulator’s Edgar system, where official regulatory filings are stored, caused the stock to jump up by as much as 20 percent in May.
