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Accessibility links - [Skip to main content](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/07/nx-s1-5355055/tariffs-markets-x-social-media#mainContent) - [Keyboard shortcuts for audio player](https://help.npr.org/contact/s/article?name=what-are-the-keyboard-shortcuts-for-using-the-npr-org-audio-player) ![]() ****Loading**** - **Hourly News** - **Listen Live** - **My Playlist** - Open Navigation Menu - [](https://www.npr.org/) - ****  WAMU 88.5 - ******Listen Live****WAMU 88.5 (HD 88.5-1)****** - [donate](https://www.npr.org/donations/support) - [Change](https://www.npr.org/stations/) [Sign in or register](https://www.npr.org/account/login) to see your station everywhere you enjoy NPR. - [Newsletters](https://www.npr.org/newsletters/) - [Sign In](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/07/nx-s1-5355055/tariffs-markets-x-social-media)Personalize Your Experience - [NPR Shop](https://shopnpr.org/) - [Donate](https://www.npr.org/donations/support) - [Local Station](https://www.npr.org/donations/support) - [NPR Network](https://contribute.npr.org/) Close Navigation Menu - [Home](https://www.npr.org/) - [News](https://www.npr.org/sections/news/) Expand/collapse submenu for News - [National](https://www.npr.org/sections/national/) - [World](https://www.npr.org/sections/world/) - [Politics](https://www.npr.org/sections/politics/) - [Business](https://www.npr.org/sections/business/) - [Health](https://www.npr.org/sections/health/) - [Science](https://www.npr.org/sections/science/) - [Climate](https://www.npr.org/sections/climate/) - [Race](https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/) - [Culture](https://www.npr.org/sections/culture/) Expand/collapse submenu for Culture - [Books](https://www.npr.org/books/) - [Movies](https://www.npr.org/sections/movies/) - [Television](https://www.npr.org/sections/television/) - [Pop Culture](https://www.npr.org/sections/pop-culture/) - [Food](https://www.npr.org/sections/food/) - [Art & Design](https://www.npr.org/sections/art-design/) - [Performing Arts](https://www.npr.org/sections/performing-arts/) - [Life Kit](https://www.npr.org/lifekit/) - [Gaming](https://www.npr.org/sections/gaming/) - [Music](https://www.npr.org/music/) Expand/collapse submenu for Music - [Tiny Desk](https://www.npr.org/series/tiny-desk-concerts/) - [New Music Friday](https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/606254804/new-music-friday) - [All Songs Considered](https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/) - [Music Features](https://www.npr.org/sections/music-features) - [Live Sessions](https://www.npr.org/series/770565791/npr-music-live-sessions) - [The Best Music of 2025](https://www.npr.org/2025/12/10/g-s1-99930/best-music-of-2025) - [Podcasts & Shows](https://www.npr.org/podcasts-and-shows/) Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily - [ Morning Edition](https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/) - [ Weekend Edition Saturday](https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-saturday/) - [ Weekend Edition Sunday](https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-sunday/) - [ All Things Considered](https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/) - [ Up First](https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510318/up-first/) - [ Here & Now](https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510051/here-x26-now/) - [ NPR Politics Podcast](https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510310/npr-politics-podcast/) Featured - [ Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me\!](https://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/) - [ Fresh Air](https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/) - [ Wild Card with Rachel Martin](https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510379/wild-card-with-rachel-martin) - [ It's Been a Minute](https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510317/its-been-a-minute) - [ Planet Money](https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510289/planet-money) - [ Get NPR+](https://plus.npr.org/?utm_medium=nprweb&source=globalsubnav) - [More Podcasts & Shows](https://www.npr.org/podcasts-and-shows/) - [Search](https://www.npr.org/search/) - [Newsletters](https://www.npr.org/newsletters/) - [NPR Shop](https://shopnpr.org/) - [Sign In](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/07/nx-s1-5355055/tariffs-markets-x-social-media)Personalize Your Experience - [ ](https://www.npr.org/music/) - [Tiny Desk](https://www.npr.org/series/tiny-desk-concerts/) - [New Music Friday](https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/606254804/new-music-friday) - [All Songs Considered](https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/) - [Music Features](https://www.npr.org/sections/music-features) - [Live Sessions](https://www.npr.org/series/770565791/npr-music-live-sessions) - [The Best Music of 2025](https://www.npr.org/2025/12/10/g-s1-99930/best-music-of-2025) - [About NPR](https://www.npr.org/about/) - [Diversity](https://www.npr.org/diversity/) - [Support](https://www.npr.org/support/) - [Careers](https://www.npr.org/careers/) - [Press](https://www.npr.org/series/750003/press-room/) - [Ethics](https://www.npr.org/ethics/) **How a false post on X about tariffs swung the stock market** **What began as a misquoted Fox News interview led to a flood of false and misleading posts on X. Before it was corrected, stock markets rallied then plummeted again.** ### [Technology](https://www.npr.org/sections/technology/) # How a false X post about pausing tariffs led to multitrillion-dollar market swings April 7, 20256:14 PM ET [](https://www.npr.org/people/638550790/bobby-allyn) [Bobby Allyn](https://www.npr.org/people/638550790/bobby-allyn)  Traders work on the floor Monday at the New York Stock Exchange in New York. **Seth Wenig/AP** ****hide caption**** ****toggle caption**** Seth Wenig/AP Multitrillion-dollar stock [market swings](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/06/nx-s1-5354258/global-markets-wall-street-trump-tariffs) on Monday appear to have been set off by false reports on Elon Musk's X. Experts say the episode highlights the social media site's enduring influence, even as it helps amplify falsehoods. How did it happen? [](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/06/nx-s1-5354258/global-markets-wall-street-trump-tariffs) ### [Business](https://www.npr.org/sections/business/) ### [U.S. stocks are volatile as selloffs sweep through global markets](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/06/nx-s1-5354258/global-markets-wall-street-trump-tariffs) Around 8:30 a.m. ET, the National Economic Council's Kevin Hassett was asked during a live Fox News interview whether President Trump would consider a 90-day pause to the [sweeping tariffs](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/07/nx-s1-5354797/tariffs-wall-street-warnings) he imposed on many countries last week. Hassett [responded](https://x.com/atrupar/status/1909222878244979085): "I think the president is going to decide what the president is going to decide." On X, that morphed into a bogus headline that Trump was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs for all countries except China. Sponsor Message [](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/07/nx-s1-5354797/tariffs-wall-street-warnings) ### [Business](https://www.npr.org/sections/business/) ### [Wall Street leaders warn of harsh economic consequences from Trump's tariffs](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/07/nx-s1-5354797/tariffs-wall-street-warnings) It appears the X account "Hammer Capital" was the first to share this false report, around 10:11 a.m. ET on Monday. The account has just over 1,100 followers, and it has a blue verification badge, a paid feature that helps enhance the reach of a user's posts. From there, the erroneous headline took on a life of its own. Dozens of other accounts with blue verification badges reshared it. Not long after, news organizations including Reuters and [CNBC](https://x.com/atrupar/status/1909250858044313876?t=pSykMNipw5j0GOi9PsjUng&s=09) reported the unsubstantiated claim. Around 10:12 a.m. ET, cheers broke out across the New York Stock Exchange trading floor, according to [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/07/media/fake-news-x-post-caused-market-whiplash/index.html), as the market rallied on the false premise that the White House was weighing a tariffs pause. About a minute later, it was posted by the X account "Walter Bloomberg," which has more than 850,000 followers. Although the account is not affiliated with Bloomberg News, it often shares the news organization's headlines. The account's boosting of the false headline [prompted chatter among CNBC analysts](https://x.com/atrupar/status/1909250858044313876?t=pSykMNipw5j0GOi9PsjUng&s=09) on live television about a possible 90-day reprieve from Trump's tariffs. Reuters, citing CNBC, then published a headline carrying the inaccurate tariff pause report. The White House denied the report. The Walter Bloomberg account deleted the post on X. Reuters and CNBC soon backtracked, but not before stock markets gyrated to the tune of \$2.4 trillion between the time of 10:08 a.m. and 10:18 a.m., [according](https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-trump-tariffs-trade-war-04-07-25/card/false-tariff-headline-sends-stocks-on-2-trillion-ride-6ziqJRKBDgDBqN3eG0RF?mod=WSJ_home_supertoppermiddle_lctimeline) to Dow Jones Market Data. Sponsor Message In statements to NPR, Reuters said it has withdrawn the incorrect report, blaming a headline published on CNBC. When asked for comment, CNBC said it "aired unconfirmed information in a banner," which it "quickly" corrected. The network would not comment on the source of its information. The wild market swing reflected how Wall Street investors are increasingly [gripped with fear](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/06/nx-s1-5354258/global-markets-wall-street-trump-tariffs) that Trump's tariffs could lead to global economic instability. Neither X nor Musk responded to NPR's requests for comment. Reporters went [back and forth](https://x.com/yourfavorito/status/1909247727730372704) with the relatively obscure finance-focused X account "Hammer Capital" that appears to have started the rumor. Whoever is behind the account claimed to be merely sharing information from "trading desks," but would not elaborate. Attempts to reach the person behind the Hammer Capital account were unsuccessful. To scholars of disinformation like Kate Starbird at the University of Washington, the market mayhem spurred by posts on X underscores the dangers of social media with both few guardrails and policies in place that incentivize virality over truthfulness. "Our social media systems — and X in particular — are designed in such a way that rumors spread extremely quickly, while corrections lag far behind. Verification is challenging (and slow), in part because it's often hard to determine the original source of a particular claim," Starbird told NPR. "Changes to account verification on X, which were put into place after Musk purchased Twitter, make it even more difficult now for social media users and other information consumers to figure out which accounts and what information we should trust." - [tariff](https://www.npr.org/tags/599656382/tariff) - [trump](https://www.npr.org/tags/428799323/trump) - [X](https://www.npr.org/tags/1175857875/x) - **Facebook** - **Flipboard** - **Email** ###### Read & Listen - [Home](https://www.npr.org/) - [News](https://www.npr.org/sections/news/) - [Culture](https://www.npr.org/sections/culture/) - [Music](https://www.npr.org/music/) - [Podcasts & Shows](https://www.npr.org/podcasts-and-shows) ###### Connect - [Newsletters](https://www.npr.org/newsletters/) - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/NPR/) - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/npr/) - [Press](https://www.npr.org/series/750003/press-room/) - [Public Editor](https://www.npr.org/sections/publiceditor/) - [Corrections](https://www.npr.org/corrections/) - [Transcripts](https://www.npr.org/transcripts/) - [Contact & Help](https://help.npr.org/contact/s/) ###### About NPR - [Overview](https://www.npr.org/about/) - [Diversity](https://www.npr.org/diversity/) - [NPR Network](https://www.npr.org/network/) - [Accessibility](https://www.npr.org/about-npr/1136563345/accessibility) - [Ethics](https://www.npr.org/ethics/) - [Finances](https://www.npr.org/about-npr/178660742/public-radio-finances) ###### Get Involved - [Support Public Radio](https://www.npr.org/support/) - [Sponsor NPR](https://www.npr.org/about-npr/186948703/corporate-sponsorship) - [NPR Careers](https://www.npr.org/careers/) - [NPR Shop](https://shopnpr.org/) - [NPR Extra](https://www.npr.org/sections/npr-extra/) - [Terms of Use](https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179876898/terms-of-use) - [Privacy](https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy) - [Your Privacy Choices](https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy#yourchoices) - [Text Only](https://text.npr.org/) - © 2026 npr Sponsor Message Sponsor Message [Become an NPR sponsor](https://www.npr.org/about-npr/186948703/corporate-sponsorship)  ##### Exclusive benefits ###### Give a little. 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 Traders work on the floor Monday at the New York Stock Exchange in New York. **Seth Wenig/AP** ****hide caption**** ****toggle caption**** Seth Wenig/AP Multitrillion-dollar stock [market swings](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/06/nx-s1-5354258/global-markets-wall-street-trump-tariffs) on Monday appear to have been set off by false reports on Elon Musk's X. Experts say the episode highlights the social media site's enduring influence, even as it helps amplify falsehoods. How did it happen? Around 8:30 a.m. ET, the National Economic Council's Kevin Hassett was asked during a live Fox News interview whether President Trump would consider a 90-day pause to the [sweeping tariffs](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/07/nx-s1-5354797/tariffs-wall-street-warnings) he imposed on many countries last week. Hassett [responded](https://x.com/atrupar/status/1909222878244979085): "I think the president is going to decide what the president is going to decide." On X, that morphed into a bogus headline that Trump was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs for all countries except China. It appears the X account "Hammer Capital" was the first to share this false report, around 10:11 a.m. ET on Monday. The account has just over 1,100 followers, and it has a blue verification badge, a paid feature that helps enhance the reach of a user's posts. From there, the erroneous headline took on a life of its own. Dozens of other accounts with blue verification badges reshared it. Not long after, news organizations including Reuters and [CNBC](https://x.com/atrupar/status/1909250858044313876?t=pSykMNipw5j0GOi9PsjUng&s=09) reported the unsubstantiated claim. Around 10:12 a.m. ET, cheers broke out across the New York Stock Exchange trading floor, according to [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/07/media/fake-news-x-post-caused-market-whiplash/index.html), as the market rallied on the false premise that the White House was weighing a tariffs pause. About a minute later, it was posted by the X account "Walter Bloomberg," which has more than 850,000 followers. Although the account is not affiliated with Bloomberg News, it often shares the news organization's headlines. The account's boosting of the false headline [prompted chatter among CNBC analysts](https://x.com/atrupar/status/1909250858044313876?t=pSykMNipw5j0GOi9PsjUng&s=09) on live television about a possible 90-day reprieve from Trump's tariffs. Reuters, citing CNBC, then published a headline carrying the inaccurate tariff pause report. The White House denied the report. The Walter Bloomberg account deleted the post on X. Reuters and CNBC soon backtracked, but not before stock markets gyrated to the tune of \$2.4 trillion between the time of 10:08 a.m. and 10:18 a.m., [according](https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-trump-tariffs-trade-war-04-07-25/card/false-tariff-headline-sends-stocks-on-2-trillion-ride-6ziqJRKBDgDBqN3eG0RF?mod=WSJ_home_supertoppermiddle_lctimeline) to Dow Jones Market Data. In statements to NPR, Reuters said it has withdrawn the incorrect report, blaming a headline published on CNBC. When asked for comment, CNBC said it "aired unconfirmed information in a banner," which it "quickly" corrected. The network would not comment on the source of its information. The wild market swing reflected how Wall Street investors are increasingly [gripped with fear](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/06/nx-s1-5354258/global-markets-wall-street-trump-tariffs) that Trump's tariffs could lead to global economic instability. Neither X nor Musk responded to NPR's requests for comment. Reporters went [back and forth](https://x.com/yourfavorito/status/1909247727730372704) with the relatively obscure finance-focused X account "Hammer Capital" that appears to have started the rumor. Whoever is behind the account claimed to be merely sharing information from "trading desks," but would not elaborate. Attempts to reach the person behind the Hammer Capital account were unsuccessful. To scholars of disinformation like Kate Starbird at the University of Washington, the market mayhem spurred by posts on X underscores the dangers of social media with both few guardrails and policies in place that incentivize virality over truthfulness. "Our social media systems — and X in particular — are designed in such a way that rumors spread extremely quickly, while corrections lag far behind. Verification is challenging (and slow), in part because it's often hard to determine the original source of a particular claim," Starbird told NPR. "Changes to account verification on X, which were put into place after Musk purchased Twitter, make it even more difficult now for social media users and other information consumers to figure out which accounts and what information we should trust."