The perils of citizen journalism
From Bloomberg News
SEC Examining False Report on Apple Chief Jobs (Update4)
By Connie Guglielmo
Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the origin of a false report on a CNN citizen journalist Web site that Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs had a heart attack and was hospitalized.
The agency's enforcement unit is trying to determine whether the iReport.com posting was intended to push down the company's stock price. CNN is cooperating with the SEC's probe, network spokeswoman Jennifer Martin said. The report is ``not true,'' Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said in an interview.
My Take:
This should give the whole iReport trend a major shake-up. It's an interesting concept, but the opportunities for media manipulation are too great.
One of the few edges so-called mainstream media have over online media (mostly) is trust. If they lose trust, then it's game over.
