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Coronavirus Disinformation May Have Contributed To Market Drop | Forbes

Fears of an economic downturn caused by supply chain interruptions and worker shortages due to the coronavirus may have been brought about by a constant stream of disinformation. Stories claiming that deaths by the virus reached into the hundreds of thousands, claims that the virus was a bioweapon run amok or that the United States had created the coronavirus flooded social media in the days leading up to a nearly thousand point drop from the previous close in the Down Jones Industrial Average on February 24, 2020.

“The breadth and volume of disinformation campaigns are designed to manipulate beliefs, impacting everything from the general public to the global stock markets,” said Wasim Khaled, CEO and founding partner of Blackbird AI. “Financial markets are particularly susceptible to disinformation driven manipulation because often, the markets are driven by perceptions relating to fears and speculations presenting opportunities for threat actors to benefit.”

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Source: Coronavirus Disinformation May Have Contributed To Market Drop