A random post on the social media platform X resulted in the stock market crash - showcasing how unreliable social media is. An unsourced headline was published on X on Monday (April 7) claiming that there will be a  “90-day pause in tariffs”. Although, the information was entirely fake and the White House firmly denied it, the investors' reaction after the X post left the stock market in a turbulent state. 

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As per the news agency CNN, the false posts may have originated from a real Fox News interview with National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett. He was asked in the interview if Trump would “consider a 90-day pause in tariffs,” and he replied in part: “The president is (going to) decide what the president is (going to) decide.”

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The first X post to claim Hassett said Trump would consider a 90-day pause in tariffs came at 10:11 am ET from an account called “Hammer Capital” with the handle “yourfavorito,” which has barely 1,000 followers, CNN claimed. 

After the post gained momentum, "Walter Bloomberg,” an account with a much larger following that uses the handle “DeItaone” copy-and-pasted the original rumor along with a siren emoji. 

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After that, CNBC anchors read on air that "apparently Hassett’s been saying Trump will consider a 90-day pause in tariffs for all countries except for China". 

“HASSETT: TRUMP IS CONSIDERING A 90-DAY PAUSE IN TARIFFS FOR ALL COUNTRIES EXPECT CHINA,” the CNBC banner read. 

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After this, the White House declined the rumours which led to a crash of the stock market. 

(With inputs from agencies)