Fake Story about Google Buying Apple for $9 Billion Surfaces

The story was published by Dow Jones newswire.

Reading something like “Google buys Apple for $9 billion” should immediately cause some doubt. For once, Apple is worth about $835 billion right now, which means that’s an incredible bargain. However, this story actually surfaced not too long ago courtesy of Dow Jones. Even though it was obviously fake, Apple’s shares saw a slight, temporary increase. Some even believed that Down Jones was hacked because of this bizarre report. As it turns out, it was nothing more than a failed technology test.

What did the story say exactly?

The report stated that “in a surprise move to anyone who is alive, Google said it’s going to buy Apple for $9 billion.” It went further and said that “Google Chief Executive Larry Page had secret talks with the now-deceased Steve Jobs in 2010 to firm up the deal.” Moreover, it appeared that Google would be moving right into Apple’s “fancy” headquarters. One of Google’s workers was obviously happy about this, as he was quoted with a simple “Yay.”

One of Dow Jones’ representatives was quick to issue a statement. The fake piece wasn’t live for long, as someone made sure to remove it quickly. However, not fast enough to prevent automatic trading algorithms from boosting Apple’s shares up $2 to $158. The CEO of Dow Jones and Publisher of The Wall Street Journal, William Lewis, explained:

“I take today’s inadvertent and erroneous publication of testing materials extremely seriously. While immediate corrective action has been taken, I have also ordered a review of news and technology processes in this area.”

Looks like someone’s in trouble.