WHOOPS: AP Falls For Hoax Press Release Saying That GE Will Repay Government $3.8 Billion Tax Break

[kpete]

Source: Business Insider

WHOOPS: AP Falls For Hoax Press Release Saying That GE Will Repay Government $3.8 Billion Tax Break
Joe Weisenthal | Apr. 13, 2011, 10:06 AM



The AP just fell for a hoax press release, which claimed that GE would repay the government the $3.8 billion tax loss carryforward it received. The hoax was designed to correspond with last month's controversy originated by the New York Times about how GE, despite its huge profits, was paying no taxes.

The fake press release titled GE Responds to Public Outcry – Will Donate Entire $3.2 Billion Tax Refund to Help Offset Cuts and Save American Jobs was posted at a site called http://www.genewscenters.com/.

It's a pretty sophisticated fake, since genewscenters.com is just one letter off from genewscenter.com, where GE actually hosts its news.

The AP then ran this:




Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/ge-press-release-hoax-2011-4#ixzz1JPsKdMxZ

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UPDATE: It turns out it wasn't USUncut that did this, but some group called @theyesmen on Twitter. I've never heard of @theyesmen. Here's the tweet below:

more:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/13/966510/-UPDATED:-GE-Hoax-Was-Created-By-The-Yes-Men
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/romenesko/127843/ap-falls-for-hoax-press-release-saying-ge-will-repay-3-2b-to-us/

[Arctic Dave]

1. Will the AP call for an investigation or will they just shrug and say oops,

we were ACORN'ed.

[hlthe2b]

2. I like how much adverse attention this gives to GE....

So if it takes AP playing the DUPE, good enough.

[FarLeftFist]

3. I love the YES men, and their movies. n/t

[Blue_Tires]

4. Good on the Yes Men, but holy damn the AP screwed the pooch

They had such a high standard for a long time...

[L. Coyote]

5. THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD is a screwball true story about two gonzo political activists who, posing

... two gonzo political activists who, posing as top executives of giant corporations,
lie their way into big business conferences and pull off the world's most outrageous pranks.

From New Orleans to India to New York City, armed with little more than cheap thrift-store suits,
the Yes Men squeeze raucous comedy out of all the ways that corporate greed is destroying the planet.

Who knew fixing the world could be so much fun?

http://theyesmenfixtheworld.com/

[Critters2]

6. First thing in the morning, often while still in bed, I look at the AP headlines

on my Blackberry. This morning, I was greeted by the news that GE was giving back its ill-gotten loot. My first thought was, "That sounds too ethical to be true". Well, I guess I know my corrupt corporate overlords better than AP does!