US authorities probe Jobs heart attack rumour

Posted on 6 Oct 2008 at 11:32

The US financial regulator is investigating whether there was any wrongdoing in the erroneous report that Apple chief executive Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating whether the unfounded rumour was a deliberate attempt to push down Apple’s share price, which did indeed fall sharply downwards after the rumour was posted.

The rumour appeared late last week on CNN’s user-driven iReport website before it was quickly removed.

“After the content in question was uploaded to iReport.com, the community brought it to our attention,” CNN spokeswoman Jennifer Martin said in a statement. “The fraudulent content was removed from the site and the user’s account was disabled.”

CNN is cooperating with the SEC’s efforts to identify the poster, known only as Johntw, whose IP address will have been recorded. Once identified he faces possible legal action.

Author: Simon Aughton

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