Fake photo of Pentagon bombing crashes S&P 500 companies by $500bn in minutes

The day before, a photograph of an alleged explosion at the US Department of Defense appeared on social media. The image was created by artificial intelligence, and after it was published by major accounts, the value of the 500 largest US companies dropped by half a trillion dollars.

Here's What We Know

The photo originally appeared on Facebook, before quickly being shared on Twitter. The photo shows a huge column of smoke next to the Department of Defense building. The photo was published by an account that is affiliated with the conspiracy group QAnon. Facebook deleted the post.

The photo was shared on Twitter by Russian propaganda accounts, among others. A Bloomberg Feed paid account also posted the photo, which caused it to be blocked. A Bloomberg News spokesman said the Bloomberg Feed and Walter Bloomberg accounts had nothing to do with the international news agency.

An officer on duty at the US Department of Defense denied there had been an explosion on the agency's premises. The Arlington Police Department (the metropolitan area where the Pentagon headquarters is located) issued a statement saying that no explosions or incidents had taken place on or near DOD property.

However, after the publication of a fake photo created by artificial intelligence, the value of the 500 largest US companies dropped immediately by $500 billion. The S&P 500 Index plummeted by 0.3% in a matter of minutes. But all recovered after it was revealed that the image was fake.

Source: Bloomberg