How a Single Tweet Wreaked Havoc on the Stock Market
In the midst of a chaotic morning on Wall Street, a well-known news aggregator on X, identified as Walter Bloomberg, published an erroneous report claiming that the President...
During a confusing morning on Wall Street, a well-known news aggregator on platform X, named Walter Bloomberg, spread a false report claiming that President Trump was considering a 90-day pause on his controversial tariff proposal. Although the news was uncertain, index funds like the Dow Jones experienced significant fluctuations, rising sharply before reversing that trend just minutes later. These swings are more notable than the typical increase or decrease of a stock on a regular day, which explains the attention the false report received.
Despite Walter Bloomberg's profile not being linked to any news organization or Bloomberg News, he has been seen as a reliable source of information on technology and business. Instead of creating his own content, the aggregator publishes news headlines as they appear on the Bloomberg Terminal, an expensive subscription service used by financial professionals to access real-time market data, including breaking news headlines. Sometimes news from outlets like CNBC and Bloomberg is published on the Terminal before their articles are available online, making accounts like Walter Bloomberg's a useful reference for quick information.
On Monday, a series of errors in reports from CNBC and Reuters, which were amplified by Walter Bloomberg's account on X, seemed to directly impact the stock market on an already chaotic day. The headline published by Walter Bloomberg, which was later deleted, read: “HASSETT: TRUMP IS CONSIDERING A 90-DAY PAUSE ON TARIFF RATES FOR ALL COUNTRIES EXCEPT CHINA.” The White House's rapid response team responded to the deleted tweet, denying that Kevin Hassett, director of Trump's National Economic Council, had made such statements. To back up this denial, they shared a clip from Fox News where the misinformation seemed to originate.
In response to billionaire Bill Ackman's request for the Trump administration to implement a 90-day pause on the tariff plan, a Fox host asked Hassett, “Would you consider a 90-day pause?” Hassett replied, “I think the president will make the decision he’s going to make… But I urge everyone, especially Bill, to tone down the rhetoric a bit.” When asked on X where he had obtained the news, Walter Bloomberg claimed the headline he posted was from Reuters. The account did not respond to TechCrunch's request for comment.
In a statement, Reuters noted that based on a headline from CNBC, it had published a story on April 7 stating that White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett had indicated that President Trump was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs for all countries except China, a report that was denied by the White House. Reuters retracted the incorrect information and expressed regret for its error. Thus, Walter Bloomberg pointed to Reuters, which in turn pointed to CNBC. A spokesperson for CNBC stated that while they were tracking the news in real-time, they showed unconfirmed information. Their reporters made a prompt correction.
Walter Bloomberg, straying from his usual tone, expressed a simple “wtf” and took a screenshot of the CNBC Terminal report indicating that the White House was not aware of any plans for a 90-day pause. It is likely that Wall Street traders saw this news directly on the Terminal and not through the aggregator. However, people outside the financial sector rely on accounts like Walter Bloomberg's for quick access to news similar to that of the Terminal.