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Litecoin fluctuates over 30% due to fake news, official sources and multiple media outlets fall victim

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Litecoin fluctuates over 30% due to fake news, official sources and multiple media outlets fall victim

On the evening of the 13th, a fake news release stating "US retail giant Walmart will start accepting Litecoin payments from October 1st" sparked reports from several major media outlets, causing Litecoin (LTC) to surge over 30% in a short period of time before dropping back to its original levels.

Event Origin: GlobeNewswire News Release Service

A major news release website, GlobeNewswire, was the first to announce that the U.S. retail giant Walmart has partnered with Litecoin and will offer an online marketplace payment option:

Mainstream media such as Reuters, CNBC, and Bloomberg quickly followed with reports on this news, and cryptocurrency media outlets including CoinDesk and Decrypt also shared this information. The Litecoin Foundation's Twitter account also retweeted this news.

However, researchers from The Block media soon discovered something suspicious – the email address used for the press release, WALMART-CORP.COM, was registered just last month and could not be linked to any website.

Various media outlets began to expose this as fake news and deleted their original webpages. The Litecoin Foundation also issued a clarification:

Spread of Fake News, Market Manipulation

The head of market at renowned Silicon Valley venture capital firm a16z commented that such incidents are not unique to the crypto industry. Media has a responsibility to verify the truth of news, and although the crypto industry is a rapidly changing and complex industry, journalists must be cautious. She also believes that news releases from wire services are not as reliable as information released on official websites.

https://twitter.com/RachaelRad/status/1437435718918279168