This tweet sent stocks plunging in minutes. Luckily, the tweet was fake.
A fake tweet from the account of the Associated Press sent stocks tumbling more than 140 points within minutes, erasing all of the day's gains and then some, before bouncing back just as rapidly.
The erroneous tweet, which was posted around 1:07 p.m. ET, said "BREAKING: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured." The tweet was up for a few minutes before AP's account was suspended, and presumably seen by many of AP's nearly 2 million followers. The tweet was also retweeted by almost 1,500 other Twitter users.
Related: AP hack proves Twitter has a serious cybersecurity problem
By 1:10 p.m. ET, the Dow was down almost 13 points, or 0.1% on the day. Just prior to the tweet, the blue-chip index had been up about 0.9% for the day. Stocks fully recovered from the plunge a few minutes after hitting the low of the day, as investors realized the tweet had been made by a hacker and was not true.
From its corporate communications account, AP clarified within minutes that the tweet was "bogus" and later elaborate that its account had been hacked and the tweet was fake.
Still, the tweet briefly sparked panic and confusion, and raised questions about the power and influence of social media in global financial markets.
Questions were also raised about how the tweet would impact investors confidence, as many are spooked by the growing number of stock market flash crashes and high frequency trading.
The tweet also raised the urgency for Twitter to improve its verification system.
Of course AP's twitter account isn't the first prominent one to get hacked.
Over the weekend, the Twitter accounts of CBS's (CBS) 60 Minutes and 48 Hours were hacked, and the accounts remain suspended.
And earlier this year, Burger King (BKW) and Jeep were among Twitter hacking victims.
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During the presidential campaign, Republican challenger Mitt Romney said Obama had waged a war on the coal industry during his first term. The reality is more nuanced. Coal production has dropped swiftly, but that's due to a mix of factors, including a U.S. natural gas boom that's made gas a compelling energy alternative. The recession has also dampened MORE
Maureen Farrell - Nov 7, 2012 12:24 PM ET
With the election out of the way, investors were on the prowl for stocks that stand to benefit under President Obama's health care reform law.
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Ben Rooney - Nov 7, 2012 11:00 AM ET
The race to the White House is neck-and-neck, according to the polls. But in the world of gambling and prediction markets, the outcome of Tuesday's election is plain as day.
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Hibah Yousuf - Oct 5, 2012 7:50 AM ET
David Einhorn recently disclosed investments in Aetna and Coventry Health
It looks like hedge fund manager David Einhorn, who has become something of a Delphic oracle to investors, scored big again Monday.
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Maureen Farrell - Aug 20, 2012 3:44 PM ET
Manchester United is one of a large numbers of companies choosing to file IPOs confidentially.
Investing in IPOs is risky enough when a company dots all of its i's and crosses its t's.
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