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Fake Tweet Claiming Assad Is Dead Affects Oil Markets

Posted by samzenpus on from the 140-kinds-of-mischief dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Apparently someone set up a fake Twitter account under the name of a Russian Foreign Minister and said President Assad of Syria had been hurt/killed. From the article: 'The ministry and the embassy denied the veracity of the report and a message later appeared on the same Twitter account saying "this account is a hoax." It did not say what the aim of the hoax was although it had briefly affected oil markets.'"

14 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. PROFIT! by nbauman · · Score: 4, Funny

    1. Send fake tweet

    2. Buy oil stocks after they go down

    3. Sell them after they go up again

    4. PROFIT!

    1. Re:PROFIT! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      No they couldn't have, becuase you post as AC. Besides, nobody wants to partner with someone who can't even speak properly.

      Are you the type of person who would cut off your nose despite your face?

      Do you consider things for all intensive purposes?

      Do you think I am making a mute point?

      Maybe you could care less?

    2. Re:PROFIT! by Andrio · · Score: 2

      1. Buy Microsoft stock.

      2. Create fake tweet that Steve Ballmer resigned.

      3. Sell stock.

      4. MEGA-PROFIT!

      --
      The Internet King? I wonder if he could provide faster nudity.
    3. Re:PROFIT! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Lose, not loose.

      -The grammar Fuhrer

    4. Re:PROFIT! by PPH · · Score: 2, Informative

      1. Send fake tweet

      2. Buy oil futures options in a long straddle.

      3. Sell them after the commodity goes up or down. Either way:

      4. PROFIT!

      Jeez! Do I have to teach you folks everything?

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    5. Re:PROFIT! by Scarletdown · · Score: 2

      No they couldn't have, becuase you post as AC. Besides, nobody wants to partner with someone who can't even speak properly.

      Are you the type of person who would cut off your nose despite your face?

      Do you consider things for all intensive purposes?

      Do you think I am making a mute point?

      Maybe you could care less?

      Now you are just acting totally retarted. This is just too rediculous to continue. :p

      --
      This space unintentionally left blank.
    6. Re:PROFIT! by Eyeball97 · · Score: 4, Funny

      1. Buy Facebook stock

      2.

      No, wait...

    7. Re:PROFIT! by sjames · · Score: 3, Insightful

      WRT long straddle or for that matter the very existence of a stock option derivative added to the fact that commodities traders don't take physical delivery, I simply refuse to accept any argument that the markets are distinguishable from casino gambling (other than having an exceptionally toothless gambling commission).

  2. See the glory of.... by Rob_Bryerton · · Score: 5, Insightful

    See the glory of the Royal Scam.

    So real money is gained and lost as imaginary value is created and destroyed based on imaginary things happening to real people.

    The stock markets are nothing more than a scam, a fixed game, and this event only serves to underline the fact. Don't play the game.

    1. Re:See the glory of.... by MightyMartian · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I don't quite get your point. Since value is frequently defined in terms of scarcity, are you saying events that could create even a temporary drop in supply shouldn't have an effect on the value (as a function of the relative scarcity)?

      Sure the this tweet was fake and doubtless was quickly corrected, but let's pretend it was true. Most assuredly it would alter the supply of oil, and hence it's value. But you don't that reflected in the price?

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  3. Oil markets affected.. in what way? by Bongoots · · Score: 2, Informative

    The article says nothing about in what way the oil markets were affected, so to spare you having to RTFA I'll copy it below:

    MOSCOW, Aug 6 (Reuters) - A Twitter user sent a hoax message on Monday that quoted Russia's ambassador to Damascus as saying Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have been killed, forcing Russian officials to quickly deny the report.

    A user on the social networking site apparently pretending to be Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev quoted the envoy, Sergei Kirpichenko, as saying Assad "has been killed or injured."

    The ministry and the embassy denied the veracity of the report and a message later appeared on the same Twitter account saying "this account is a hoax." It did not say what the aim of the hoax was although it had briefly affected oil markets.

    Russia is a strong ally of Assad and has repeatedly prevented tougher sanctions being imposed on Syria by the United Nations since the start of an uprising against the president 17 months ago.

    Asked about the report that Assad may be dead, Artyom Savelyev, the Russian embassy's press attache in Damascus, said by telephone: "Our ambassador said nothing of the sort."

    An Interior Ministry spokesman said Kolokoltsev had no Twitter account.

    1. Re:Oil markets affected.. in what way? by Bill+Dimm · · Score: 2

      Yeah, they also didn't say what time the tweet went out. What lazy reporting. Apparently, this is the twitter feed. The first announcement went out at 9:59am. You can see a price spike a little after 10am (sadly, that link will probably be invalid after today), but the price stays up even after it was revealed as a hoax.

    2. Re:Oil markets affected.. in what way? by Bill+Dimm · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That describes 99% of reporting on the financial markets.

  4. Re:Fake tweet?? by NonUniqueNickname · · Score: 4, Funny

    The tweet is fake because Bashar isn't dead. He's just resting. Remarkable dictators the Assad family. Lovely oil fields.