If fake news from a hacker was enough to manipulate market trends, we really need to ask ourselves questions. That is, we have to ask ourselves, since it is not the first and who knows if it will be the last, if it is not markets that like to be manipulated from hackers and fake news, rather than vice versa. And even if the authorities, who supervise the markets, don’t try, at least have some fun in this.
Because, if once again it was enough for a computer hacker to break into the SEC’s Twitter account (actually no, now it’s called X), the body that controls the American Stock Exchange, to give a boost to cryptocurrencies yesterday evening, publishing the fake news about the green light for the first ETF on Bitcoin, we cannot help but raise legitimate doubts.
In the era of social dependence, it’s true, communication is everything. And the faster the better. But it is right to ask whether this paradigm should apply also for institutions, such as the SEC, which can strike a chord with investors. Or whether it is better to continue to rely on channels over which you have complete control, such as perhaps your own website, which certainly have a less pop appeal, but, on the other hand, allow fewer intrusions from online criminals.
There is a paradox in remembering again that it is not the first time that a hacker and fake news have ruined the stock market. We saw it in 2013, when the usual masked digital criminal launched from the Associated Press account the fake tweet about the attack on the White House, with President Barack Obama injured. Obama’s spokesperson immediately denied it, but did not prevent the main American stock exchange, the S&P500, from losing 136 billion in a flash. And just last year, an AI-created photo showed yet another explosion near the Pentagon. Once the photo went viral, Wall Street had burned 550 billion.
Then there are the effects of Elon Musk’s jokes, these not written by hackers. To give an example, in 2018 he announced with a tweet that he wanted to withdraw Tesla from the market. Do you remember the consequences? And again, Donald Trump’s various invectives against Apple and General Motors and the inevitable repercussions, seen from time to time on the stocks on the stock exchange. An endless list of tragicomic examples, which should however tell us all of the adverse effects that the digital democracy in which we live can have. And how certain institutions should probably stay away from us, to prefer more classic ways of communicating to more classic communications, such as giving the green light to an ETF. Even the simple institutional website is enough. Festina lente, Calvino reminded us.