On a tumultuous morning on Wall Street, a prominent news aggregator on X, known as Walter Bloomberg, shared a misleading report claiming that President Trump was considering a 90-day pause on his controversial tariff proposal. This false information triggered significant fluctuations in index funds like the Dow Jones, which saw rapid spikes followed by sharp declines within minutes. Such dramatic volatility is far more consequential than typical daily stock variations, which is why the erroneous report attracted considerable attention.
Despite Walter Bloomberg not being officially affiliated with any news organization or Bloomberg News, it has established a reputation as a reliable source for technology and business news. The account primarily shares headlines as they are published on the Bloomberg Terminal, a premium subscription service that offers real-time market data and breaking news to finance professionals. Headlines from outlets like CNBC and Bloomberg frequently appear on the Terminal before being available online, making Walter Bloomberg a valuable resource for prompt news updates.
On Monday, a combination of reporting errors from CNBC and Reuters, amplified by Walter Bloomberg’s post on X, seemed to have directly impacted the stock market amid the ongoing chaos. The now-deleted headline from Walter Bloomberg stated: “HASSETT: TRUMP IS CONSIDERING A 90-DAY PAUSE IN TARIFFS FOR ALL COUNTRIES EXCEPT CHINA.”
In response, the White House’s rapid response team quote-tweeted the false post, asserting that Kevin Hassett, Trump’s director of the National Economic Council, did not make such statements. To back this up, the White House account shared a clip from Fox News, which appeared to be the original context for the misleading claim.
During the Fox segment, when billionaire Bill Ackman suggested that the Trump administration consider a 90-day pause on tariffs, a Fox anchor asked Hassett, “Would you do a 90-day pause? Would you consider that?” Hassett responded carefully, stating, “You know, I think the president is going to decide what the president is going to decide… But I would urge everyone, especially Bill, to ease off the rhetoric a little bit.”
When questioned on X about the source of his news, Walter Bloomberg pointed to Reuters as the origin. The aggregator did not respond to a request for comment from TechCrunch.
In a statement to TechCrunch, Reuters said, “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 its error.
Thus, Walter Bloomberg shifted the blame to Reuters, which in turn traced the miscommunication back to CNBC. A CNBC spokesperson stated, “As we were chasing the news of the market moves in real-time, we aired unconfirmed information in a banner. Our reporters quickly made a correction on air.”
Walter Bloomberg then broke from its typical robotic tone with a simple “wtf,” and posted a screenshot of the CNBC report clarifying that the White House was not aware of any plan for a 90-day pause.
It’s likely that Wall Street traders accessed news directly from the Bloomberg Terminal rather than relying on the Walter Bloomberg aggregator. Nevertheless, individuals outside the financial industry often depend on accounts like Walter Bloomberg to replicate the quick news access provided by the Terminal.
