Chaos Unleashed by a Misleading Post
Amid an already turbulent morning on Wall Street, a now-deleted post by the popular Walter Bloomberg account on X (formerly Twitter) ignited a flash of market chaos. The post falsely claimed that former President Donald Trump was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs for all countries except China—a claim that was swiftly debunked by the White House but not before sending U.S. indexes like the Dow Jones into a brief frenzy.
The Impact: Market Volatility Triggered
Despite its inaccuracy, the post triggered an immediate market reaction. Index funds surged momentarily before sharply reversing, reflecting investor sensitivity to any potential shift in trade policy. Analysts highlighted this episode as a case study in how misinformation, even momentary, can lead to significant volatility, especially in a high-frequency trading environment.
The Account Behind the Panic
Though Walter Bloomberg has no ties to Bloomberg News, the account is well-followed for posting headlines from the Bloomberg Terminal—a high-priced, real-time news and data service widely used by financial professionals. The Terminal often receives news headlines seconds before they’re published online, making aggregator accounts like Walter Bloomberg a valuable (if unofficial) tool for the public and traders without Terminal access.
Chain Reaction of Reporting Errors
The misleading headline posted by Walter Bloomberg read:
“HASSETT: TRUMP IS CONSIDERING A 90-DAY PAUSE IN TARIFFS FOR ALL COUNTRIES EXCEPT CHINA.”
However, this headline turned out to be false. In a rapid rebuttal, the White House quote-tweeted the post and denied that Kevin Hassett, Trump’s National Economic Council director, made such a statement.
To support their correction, the White House circulated a clip from Fox News, where the confusion apparently began. In the clip, Hassett was asked whether a 90-day pause might be considered, to which he responded vaguely, without confirming or denying policy intentions.
“The president is going to decide what the president is going to decide… I would urge everyone, especially Bill [Ackman], to ease off the rhetoric a little bit,” said Hassett.
Reuters, CNBC, and the Blame Game
When pressed on where the false headline originated, Walter Bloomberg claimed it came from Reuters. Reuters then issued a statement to TechCrunch, explaining that it had relied on a CNBC headline, which was aired during real-time coverage of the market turmoil.
“Reuters has withdrawn the incorrect report and regrets its error,” the agency stated.
CNBC, in turn, acknowledged their misstep:
“As we were chasing the news of the market moves in real-time, we aired unconfirmed information in a banner. Our reporters quickly made a correction on air,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch.
Aggregator vs. Origin: Who’s Really at Fault?
While some traders might have seen the original CNBC or Reuters reporting directly via their Bloomberg Terminal, many in the broader investing community only became aware through Walter Bloomberg’s post, reinforcing the outsize influence of unofficial aggregator accounts on digital platforms.
Breaking from its usual emotionless headline reposting, the Walter Bloomberg account simply posted “wtf”, followed by a screenshot of the corrected CNBC headline.
The Bigger Picture: Fragility of Market Information
This episode underscores the fragile relationship between real-time information and market stability. In an era where automated trading algorithms can react within milliseconds, even a brief misinformation ripple can cause massive temporary swings.
It also raises broader concerns about the reliability and verification process among financial media and aggregators—especially in an increasingly digitally-driven, fast-paced investment landscape.
