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Investigators: No evidence that poster of Jobs heart attack rumor profited

According to the San Jose Mercury News, no evidence has been found to support the claim that a teenager who posted a rumor online saying Steve Jobs has suffered a heart attack tried to profit from the lower stock price.

One person involved in the investigation (who declined to be identified because it's still ongoing) said the agency hasn't unearthed any trading records that show the teen benefited from the drop.

The SEC and Apple officially declined to comment. An SEC manipulation case would depend on the teenager's intentions, according to the Merc.

The initial report, posted to CNN's iReport website on October 3, was publicized Silicon Alley Insider, prompting nervous investors to sell their AAPL shares. That day, the stock fell by 5.4 percent, but recovered to close down by three percent.

Update: My apologies: I misread the lead. Entirely my fault.



According to the San Jose Mercury News, no evidence has been found to support the claim that a teenager who posted a rumor online saying...
 

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Karl

I can't even comprehend how people can believe that this guy should get in trouble. Even if it was just a practical joke, he should not be liable at all.

If what you are trying to say was the case, then people would find a way to make someone else liable in every case. The fact that people are suing each other for anything these days is bad enough.

For instance the fact the TUAW completly screwed up this article first go should not be a problem. But pretend that the guy that is spoken about in this article owned a public company and you had shares in it. Then, due to the misinformation in the article, you lost money though the temporary stock drop. Are you going to tell me that TUAW is liable for being human and making a mistake of fact?

Anyway, this is not an attack on anyone, rather a vent.

Cheers,
Karl

October 27 2008 at 7:58 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
bhavesh patel

I mean censorship figuratively, not literally. Sorry for the confusion. But what I mean is... At what level do you tell people that they are responsible for what they say? If I say something that is not true, even by accident, and you lose money, you are telling me that I am liable. But I don't even know you. Again, I'm just a dude. Not CNN. I don't think even CNN would be responsible by the way, mistakes happen all the time and they seem to be able to just apologize.

Where does such "responsibility" stop? What's the next thing that I would say that I am responsible for?

October 25 2008 at 8:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Julius

"Censorship" is something completely different and means that the government forbids a certain opinion before it is published. That's not the case her. Again you CAN post what you "believe" in, as long as you don't interfere with other's rights. A company has its own rights, too, similar to a living person.

October 25 2008 at 6:53 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Julius's comment
bhavesh patel

so which rights were infringed upon??


October 25 2008 at 7:50 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
bhavesh patel

what right is Josh's rumor post interfering with? It's a choice to be buy apple stock, and that comes with all the attendant risks. Including false rumors, true rumors, facts, and anything else that affects the stock price. No one has a right to own apple stock risk-free. What about all the rumor sites that build up apple stock in the expectation of the next apple product, only to find they were wrong, and then the stock sells off? Should they be held liable too?

Now, if Josh actually had bought puts or shorted the stock outright, and then profited, that is direct market manipulation, and illegal.

If a rumor is false, the stock should come back to normal levels anyway, and if you're truly invested in aaple, there is no change over the long term. In fact, it's even a buying opportunity for long term investors. If you're a short term day trader, then you might have lost money. But again, that's the risk you take investing that way.

Where does censorship end if someone can't post what he believes? A news source should be held to a higher standard, of course. But an individual is just that. People shouldn't be so dumb to react to an unverfied source. The fault belongs to the investors who sold, not josh.

October 25 2008 at 3:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
bhavesh patel

In America, we have the right to free speech and he has the right to say what he wants. You have the right to believe or not to believe him.

In regards to the stock price dropping, that reflects the whole market sentiment and the general concern that there is over Jobs' health. The market is volatile, and AAPL stock is volatile. If you can't handle the volatility, then you shouldn't be in the stock. Investing in AAPL is not a bank account. Your money is npt guaranteed. You should put your money elsewhere rather than get worried about someone accidentally causing a momentary stock price blip. We also have a free market ......

Bhavesh.

October 25 2008 at 8:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to bhavesh patel's comment
Julius

Sure you have those rights, but just like in Germany one's rights can only go so far as they don't interfere with someone else's rights. That's especially the case when the right of free speech collides with somebody's rights of e.g. privacy or financial interest. The flat statement that one "has the right to say what he wants" cannot hold up to that.

But I have only studied some years of American law, so I'm no expert (are you maybe?).

German law differs between opinions and statements of fact. An opinion is protected by the constitution whereas a statement of fact enjoys less protection since (in short) it doesn't help develop the society as much as opinions do.

And no, you don't even have a free market (anymore).

October 25 2008 at 10:06 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Julius

Well whoever you are, posting information about some secret product development is one thing, spreading the rumor that Apple's CEO died is something else. I think it is not unfair to punish you for that as REAL money was burned because of your misbehavior. I don't want to argue about if it's right or wrong that everyone so much connects Apple's future with Steve Jobs' health but that's the situation. Relying on an unidentified source doesn't protect you from liability, at least in Germany it doesn't.

October 25 2008 at 4:05 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Josh

Ok, I'm a regular TUAW reader, I HAVE to say something. They may not have released any names yet, but I'm the one that posted the story. You guys here at tuaw with access to the proper info can confirm that by seeing that the email I'm currently using is the same one I sent the original tip with. I'd just like to say that I'm getting sick of people that judge this situation without actually knowing anything about it. I read all these blogs with people commenting, saying things like I should be prosecuted. How exactly can you say that unless you know all the circumstances? If you'd like the gist of what happened, I made the same mistake that Silicon Alley Insider made: I didn't verify the authenticity of the story before I posted it to iReports. At the time of posting, I believed it to be true, as it came from a source I've talked with numerous times, who has always given me reliable information regarding Apple, things that hadn't even appeared on TUAW or other Apple-oriented blogs yet, but always ended up being true, I had NO reason to doubt what I was told. The entire story is a bit too long for me to post here, so anyone with questions, ask away. I'm more than happy to answer, I have nothing to hide. This was not done with any intention of hurting OR helping anyone, financially or otherwise. I have nothing but the highest respect for Steve Jobs, and Apple as a whole. And BTW, this isn't a joke, this is really me. I may not be back till later, but I'll answer questions when I do.

October 24 2008 at 8:43 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Josh's comment
Josh

NVM, it posted using my regular tuaw profile (different email address) :- but it IS me.

October 24 2008 at 8:52 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
GadgetGav

"why not apply to blog for TUAW? Here's what we need from you:
3 sample posts written in TUAW's style."

Do all three need to be completely bass ackwards or just a subset??

October 24 2008 at 3:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Johnny

Robert,

You mean to tell me that the writers or TUAW are human and able to make mistakes? Well, I'm going to stop reading this blog until there are robots writing the articles in perfect form with dynamic text that appeals directly to the person reading it so that I am never bothered with having to choose wether or not I wish to read (or believe) the post. Gosh. ;-)

October 24 2008 at 2:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Johnny's comment
Robert Palmer

That gave me a chuckle. Thanks, Johnny. :)

October 24 2008 at 2:15 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Johnny

I meant 'the writers OF TUAW'.

Geez. You can't even make the comment system know what I meant to type? I'm out of here. lol.

October 24 2008 at 2:16 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
BillF

The guy who apparently profited was probably the "corrupt" Merrill Lynch officer.

October 24 2008 at 2:10 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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