Bogus 'Jobs heart attack' story hits Apple and citizen journalism stocks

By Stephen Withers
Monday, 06 October 2008 05:17

Opinion and Analysis

A spoof - or perhaps malicious - post claiming Apple CEO Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack hit the company's stock price. Does this cast doubt on the 'citizen journalism' concept or is it just good old-fashioned stock manipulation?

Jobs' health has been the subject of rumour and speculation since he was treated for pancreatic cancer in 2004. Practically every time he takes the stage someone will comment publicly on his appearance.

While the health of any CEO is an issue for investors, many people rightly or wrongly regard Jobs as being absolutely central to the company's success. Furthermore, the company has not made public any succession plans that might help assuage shareholder fears.

If someone made up a story that Jobs had suffered a heart attack and then posted it to their own blog, it would get little or no attention unless they had already established a solid reputation. But the report appeared on CNN's iReport site, perhaps giving it a veneer of credibility and almost certainly wider exposure - than it deserved.

The report read "Steve Jobs was rushed to the ER just a few hours ago after suffering a major heart attack. I have an insider who tells me that paramedics were called after Steve claimed to be suffering from severe chest pains and shortness of breath. My source has opted to remain anonymous, but he is quite reliable. I haven't seen anything about this anywhere else yet, and as of right now, I have no further information, so I thought this would be a good place to start. If anyone else has more information, please share it."

Apple's share price opened at $US104.53, rose slightly and then dropped to a low of $US95.41, quickly recovering to $US103.36. This was the lowest it has been since mid-2007.

When contacted by US journalists, Apple spokespeople said the report was not true.

What happened next? Please read on.