|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Misinformation Examples
| |
|
AOL Misinformation "While acknowledging that it posted some inaccurate information about Ben Ezra Weinstein & Co., America Online blamed the problem on bad information it had received from Standard & Poor, its stock information supplier. An AOL spokesperson says: 'We don't make the stock prices. All the information is computer-translated, and occasionally the information we get is wrong.' But the chief operating officer for Ben Ezra Weinstein suggests otherwise: 'AOL just acknowledged that they've known about the problem for a few weeks but couldn't correct it until they got a certain software. When I asked AOL to put that in writing, they wouldn't... We believe the problem is with AOL, and we have asked them to fix the problem and provide a screen saying there have been errors, and they haven't done that either.'"
--Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7 Mar 1997
The Ticketmaster Typo
"Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch's initial public offering later today will
raise a whopping $98 million for the online entertainment guide. It also
bolstered the fortunes of a tiny office cleaning company in Manhattan,
thanks to a misprint. Ticketmaster's stock is slated to trade under the
symbol TMCS. But Reuters and ZDNet mistakenly printed the symbol as TMCO in
their coverage of the IPO.
TMCO is the stock symbol of Temco Service Industries International. Because
of the erroneous reports, the stock zoomed to an all-time high of $65 from
$23. In early afternoon trading, the stock settled back down at $31, after
investors apparently figured out their mistake.
Representatives of the company were not immediately available for comment,
nor were Ticketmaster officials."
|