Background on Phony E-Mail

The engadet.com Web site posted complete background information on the phony e-mail it reported on last week, causing a $4 billion dip in Apple stock net worth. An Apple employee fed the phony e-mail to writer Ryan Block, who tried unsuccessfully to verify the memo with Apple PR. Faced with competition from other sites who had the same story, he decided to run the story unverified. He presents some plausible justifications for all his actions. But he didn't consider that someone is always trying to scam the system, in this case trying to drop the stock price. And he didn't consider why Apple would announce something so material as an iPhone delay to its employees, before the stock market opens, and not announce it to investors. It certainly shows the competition that's been created among Web sites--and even mainstream news outlets--to get the story out. "We have learned a very serious lesson yesterday," Block wrote, adding that they'll be working to re-gain the trust of their readers. No doubt he'll also be talking to the SEC.