SEC/Muddy Waters Hoax Begs the Question: Can You Ever Trust a Press Release?

What is the difference between

press release and

? They both come from Business Wire and appear on Benzinga.com. The former element tells

that the press releases are legit; the latter element tells

, the Benzinga reader, that the contents are real. Now in press release terms, the definition of “real” may only stretch as far as what the company believes to be true. Nokia

, for example, does not think that its

is inferior to the

. Nokia – like any company – believes that it has produced the best product in the world. Nowadays, most investors, business professionals, and consumers have figured this out. Thus, they know that while the general words of a press release are likely to be true, the overall message is guaranteed to be skewed in favor of the company that issued the release. Unfortunately, it isn't that simple anymore. The Internet has allowed a whole host of artificial materials to proliferate and mislead the world into believing almost anything. But while there was once a time when the most untrustworthy form of communication was typically defined as a chain letter, sites like

are now making it possible to distribute fake press releases that look and sound as good as the real thing. This became scarily apparent earlier today when word spread that the SEC was charging Muddy Waters with fraud. This news

, but not before fueling the Web with rumors, speculation, and false information. While the source of the fake press release has yet to be uncovered, one thing remains clear: someone with malicious intent decided to use BriefingWire to deceive as many people as possible.

Do you think this is the end of the story? Let's hope it is. Let's hope that from this point forward, BriefingWire and its many competitors scrutinize their posts more carefully, ensuring that their contents are genuine. To its credit, BriefingWire removed the questionable release as soon as Muddy Waters confirmed that the information was false. But if we are to trust press releases from third-party sources, the websites responsible for publishing them must have a system in place to ensure their credibility. Just think of how awful it must have been for Carson Block (Muddy Waters' research director) to wake up this morning and hear the claim that the SEC had charged him with fraud.

If freebie press release sites lose their credibility, it won't be the big organizations that suffer. They can afford to use Business Wire or another source to distribute their releases. Small businesses, however, may not have the budget to pay for a professional service. They may be forced to use whatever freebie offerings are available. Consequently, if credibility remains an ongoing issue, legitimate organizations will be the ones that are hurt the most.