San Francisco Chronicle reports on fake press release about ex-PG&E CEO

The San Francisco Chronicle published a story about a fake press release stating that former PG&E CEO Geisha Williams was going to give her salary to victims of the wildfires before discovering it was a fake.

Roland Li of the Chronicle reports, “The website www.pgecalifornia.com posted a news release that claimed Williams was donating the money to help with relief efforts. The domain was registered anonymously on Jan. 20, according to internet records.

“After The Chronicle reported the false claim, a PG&E spokesman said the website was a fake. Later, a group called Climate Justice Crew took credit for it.

“‘Today, there were several social media posts about our former CEO that are simply not true,’ PG&E spokeswoman Kristi Jourdan said in an email. ‘The posts were connected to a fake website that, despite appearances, is not affiliated in any way with PG&E.'”

Read more here. The story includes the following note at the end: Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article repeated the website’s false claim about the donation.

AddThis Website Tools
Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.

Recent Posts

WSJ’s Mandhana becomes chief correspondent in Singapore

Wall Street Journal's Naharika Mandhana has become a chief correspondent in Singapore. She previously was Southeast Asia…

10 hours ago

Why Asia has become a big story for the WSJ

Wall Street Journal Asia editor Deborah Ball spoke with Campaign about the region's growing importance for the…

10 hours ago

The WSJ’s performance incentive plan problem

Lachlan Cartwright and Ravi Somaiya of Breaker write about the performance incentive plan issue at The Wall…

11 hours ago

WSJ. Magazine names new staff members

WSJ. Magazine editor in chief Sarah Ball sent out the following on Tuesday: Dear all,…

11 hours ago

Debtwire reporter Weitzman now covering private credit

Debtwire reporter Amelia Weitzman is now covering private credit in New York. She has spent the last…

19 hours ago

Remembering journalist Gwen Robinson

Financial Times associate editor Edward Luce writes about Gwen Robinson, the former Financial Times and Nikkei…

19 hours ago