Ten years of support and trust from our readers have been immensely valuable to us at Cointelegraph. We have always strived to provide you with the most insightful and impactful news regarding the cryptocurrency space. However, we deeply regret a recent incident in which our social media team posted inaccurate information without proper verification.
The false claim made was that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had approved BlackRock’s iShares spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). This misinformation was a result of an unconfirmed screenshot shared by a user on X, who claimed it originated from the Bloomberg Terminal.
Although we did not publish an article with this incorrect information, we acknowledge the negative impact caused by the error and take full responsibility. Upon conducting an internal investigation, it was discovered that our standard procedure for posting breaking news on social media was not followed, which requires verifying sources before making any public announcements.
The timeline of events is as follows: First, the editorial team was alerted to the rumored news through a Telegram channel used by Cointelegraph employees to discover potential stories. Shortly after, the lead was reposted in an internal Slack channel, and in an attempt to break the news as quickly as possible, it was posted on X without prior editorial approval.
Once readers reported the issue through various social media channels, it became evident that the source of the claim could not be located. Consequently, the message on X was edited to clarify that the information was unconfirmed. Subsequently, we reached out to BlackRock and the Bloomberg Terminal, and upon confirmation that the report was false, we promptly retracted the initial tweet and issued a statement to inform our readers of the situation.
To prevent such incidents in the future, we are conducting a comprehensive audit of our social media management processes. This review will include a focus on verifying the authenticity of breaking news before any publication is made. We are also engaging in conversations with all the employees involved and will implement any necessary structural changes to ensure utmost accuracy and integrity in our reporting.
This incident serves as a reminder of the significant impact our actions have on the cryptocurrency community. We are fully committed to learning from our mistakes and upholding the highest standards of journalism.
We sincerely apologize for any confusion or harm caused by this incident and appreciate your continued support. Rest assured that we will work tirelessly to regain your trust and deliver the quality news coverage you expect from us.
Thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely,
The Cointelegraph Team
Source link