- Engadget gets an email saying the iPhone will be delayed until October and that Leopard will also be delayed.
- Engadget writes about it saying it came from a “trustworthy source.”
- Apple’s stock drops $4.47 per share in eight minutes ($4 billion off the market cap).
- Oops. The email was fake.
Engadget says “Presumably Apple is now on the hunt for whomever was able to spoof its internal email system.”
Engadget Screwed Up
In my opinion, this was bad journalism by Engadget (Ryan Block) and not a good thing for blogs. It would have taken them a few minutes to call and let Apple know what they were sitting on and that they were planning on running it. Apple could have at least had a second to say “this was a fake.” I think Engadget may have hurt its relationship with Apple here.
My guess is Engadget realized they weren’t the only ones who received the email, and they wanted to put it out as fast as possible. So, about that “we have it on authority” part . . .
3 comments ↓
Yeah, that’s pretty nuts how a fake email like that can have such an effect on a company’s stock price. If you read the updated explanation from Ryan Block on Engadget, he tried to contact Apple about it, but just got voicemail. He thought he had a serious scoop on the story, and knew it was a reliable source, so he was forced to make a decision. I think most of us would have made the same call if placed in that situation. I know I would have. In fact, it’s not like the mainstream media never makes this kind of mistakes–they make mistakes like this all the time. The primary difference with blogs is the speed at which stories are posted. That speed makes it somewhat easier for mistakes like this one to slip through before they can be caught. Engadget might take a slight hit on their reputation, but long term nobody will hold it against them long term.
Innocent mistake, though amazing the amount of power a tech blog wields…
Hmmmm.
I don’t find a $4 billion swing to be an innocent mistake.
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