A wave of confusion recently hit Wall Street after a false report posted by the popular news account, Walter Bloomberg, caused a chaotic series of events. The report falsely claimed that President Trump was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs for all countries, except China. This false information led to a surge in the Dow Jones index, which quickly reversed course minutes later after it became clear the report was untrue.
Walter Bloomberg is not affiliated with any major news outlet like Bloomberg News, but the account has earned a reputation for posting headlines directly from the Bloomberg Terminal—a subscription-only service that provides real-time financial data and news. This makes the account a go-to source for many traders looking for quick updates. However, this reliance on speed over accuracy backfired when a headline attributed to White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett was later shown to be incorrect.
The misleading report was initially published by Reuters, based on a headline from CNBC. The inaccurate headline stated that Hassett had confirmed President Trump was considering the 90-day tariff pause. However, the White House quickly denied the report, with a spokesperson clarifying that Hassett had not made such a statement. The White House even shared a Fox News clip to highlight the misrepresentation, showing Hassett’s actual words, which were far less definitive.
The misleading report spread quickly through social media, as Walter Bloomberg amplified the incorrect information. The post, which was deleted after being proven false, attributed the claim to Hassett, which led to confusion and volatility in the stock market. On X, Walter Bloomberg, in a rare break from its usual robotic tone, responded with a simple “wtf,” expressing disbelief over the situation.
In response, Reuters issued a statement acknowledging the error, retracting the false report, and apologizing for the confusion. CNBC, too, clarified that the information had been unconfirmed and quickly corrected during their broadcast. A CNBC spokesperson explained that the outlet, in the rush to report real-time news, aired the unverified information before proper confirmation, leading to the subsequent correction.
While the false report has since been retracted, the incident highlights how unverified news can spread rapidly in the financial sector, where information is consumed in real-time. In this case, the error caused a brief but significant disruption on Wall Street, with traders reacting to the news before it was debunked.
This event also sheds light on the growing influence of news aggregators like Walter Bloomberg, which, despite lacking direct connections to major news organizations, have gained a large following due to their ability to share breaking headlines.
However, as demonstrated, this speed comes with the risk of spreading inaccurate information, which can have serious consequences in volatile markets.
