One of the shows that I loved during the 2010s was The Newsroom. It was Aaron Sorkin’s view of how news media is going for being first rather than being right. While some people will shit on that show, if you look at it through the early 2010s lens, he predicted a lot. Reuters decided that it was important to be first than right. Social media is not the place you should run with news half-cocked.
That wasn’t the biggest goof. That error was then amplified on CNBC, who read the tweet and instead of verifying it – ran with it. Why? Because that is how the internet has been. Many news organizations have been running with what some rando claims on Twitter and fail to even fact check it.
In any case, the tweet was from some rando with over 800,000 followers. Because somehow having a lot of followers means you’re legit or something. It started with Kevin Hassett, the White House national economic council director, was asked if Trump was considering a 90-day pause, but did not confirm or deny it, instead saying the president was focused on making some “great” deals.
However, the tweet was misconstrued as being a confirmation. CNBC Carl Quintanilla’s then referred to the bogus 90-day claim on air, with co-host David Faber adding “that’s huge.”
Reuters Retracts a Story if You Fact-Checked
This immediately sent stocks into positive territory for a short time, until the White House debunked the claim. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called it “fake news”. This led to Reuters retracting the original story:
“Reuters, drawing from a headline on CNBC, published a story on April 7. saying White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett had said that President Donald Trump was considering a 90-day tariff pause on all countries except China. The White House denied the report. Reuters has withdrawn the incorrect report and regrets the error.”
This is the problem with social media. The original account, that posted the claim, wasn’t someone of status. They were not a member of the administration. Yet, the media fell for it and made this person’s day.
This is stuff we see all the time on social media. Random accounts claiming to have breaking news with no source. In this case, taking a true statement and manipulating it to something else. It reminded me of all those MAGA TikTokers that reported a bill had passed with no tax on overtime. Which was a blatant lie.