'You won't believe what people are uploading'

San Francisco Chronicle:

The banner at the top of CNN's public journalism web site iReport.com reads, "See it first. Your Stories. No Boundaries. You won't believe what people are uploading."

Indeed, on Friday morning, boundaries were loose. An iReport story posted by a "Johntw" at around 9 a.m. EDT with the headline "Steve Jobs rushed to ER following severe heart attack" entered the Internet rumor mill, landing on news site Digg.com and spawning dozens of nervous postings on micro-blogging site Twitter.com. By 9:25 am, the widely read online magazine Silicon Alley Insider had picked up the item.

Apple stock dropped with incredible speed on the strength of the rumor. The company's shares fell to $95.41 from $105.27 between 9:40 and 9:52 a.m. - 9 percent - before Apple denied the report. After describing the content as fraudulent, CNN confirmed Friday that a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation is under way in regard to the "citizen blogger" post, which caused a $9 billion loss in Apple shares before the post was debunked. The posting on iReport was "not vetted or reported by CNN journalists," according to a CNN statement.

...


If I were investigating this report, I would start with the short sellers and and then go to the holders of Apple puts. Those are the guys who had a financial interest in the report. Perhaps someone may have had other motives such as politics, but it is usually smart to start with the financial interests.

BTW: CNN may want to work on its disclaimer.

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