Reuters, other biz media, victim of hoax

TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE

Reuters published a story on its wire earlier Monday in which it stated that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce had reversed its policy on climate change legislation.

There was just one problem: The statement attributed to the organization was a hoax.

A Thomson Reuters spokesman, in response to a question from Talking Biz News, stated, “Reuters has an obligation to its clients to publish news and information that could move financial markets, and this story had the potential to do that. Once we had confirmed the release was a hoax, we immediately issued a correction, and in keeping with Reuters policy, the story was subsequently withdrawn and an advisory sent to readers.”

It’s unknown what group or individual was responsible for the release that Reuters based its story on.

The story, written by Tom Doggett, began, “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said on Monday it will no longer opposes climate change legislation, but wants the bill to include…”

Interestingly, other business news media, including CNBC, ran the story as well based on the Reuters report without checking with the U.S. Chamber. Fox Business Network’s Brian Sullivan was apparently the first to report that the story was a hoax just as his network was reporting the story.

Here’s a link to a U.S. Chamber release denying any change in its position on climate change legislation