SEC Probes Fake Steve Jobs Heart Attack Report

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating a false report on CNN’s iReport site that Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs had had a heart attack. CNN says it is cooperating with the probe. The posting caused Apple stock to fall 9% before recovering to end Friday down 3%.  (ZDNet)

The posting may put a halt to so-called citizen journalism, which allows users to post news without editorial review. The post got pushed to Digg, where many tech blog writers say they saw it and quickly determined it was a fake. Apple also quickly denied the story, which was removed from iReport by CNN.

Sources:
SEC investigating fake Steve Jobs heart attack story (ZDNet)
False Steve Jobs Report Shows Hazards of “Citizen Journalism” BNET)
Steve Jobs rumor: What can the SEC do? (Apple 2.0)