Misinformation and CNBC

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illiquid

Just curious: is there any specific law against the spread of misinformation, even in fictional media?

Take a movie like Silence of the Lambs. For an audience, Jodie Foster's character is the "good" protaganist; every factual statement out of her mouth is eminently believable. So if the screenwriters had her say something patently false, something not easily confirmed (a faulty chemical reaction, for instance) but used just for the sake of drama -- is there any penalty for that? What about a website that gives completely erroneous information on serious topics -- can they get shut down?

Anyways, back to what's pertinent. News media are required to correct any mistakes immediately when discovered; so what about CNBC? Are they considered a "soft" news channel? When Bob the Stallion Pisani says stocks are going down because of X when it's obviously not the reason at all, can't he and CNBC be held liable for misinformation? Or is it more like the weather report or The Enquirer?
 
They publish/ display disclaimers every so often. You would be faced with disproving Pissonmes statement and you couldn't do that any more than he could prove he's right. It is an idiots delight, try Bloomberg TV for information dispersal, instead of a bunch of morons that have come to believe they are media stars and think they actually know something.

Actually Michelle Carrara spits it out better than Bloomie on the the early morning Asia watch.
 
I am told from a reliable source that Maria prefers not to spit it out in the early morning hours.:eek:
 
I love the comments they make sometimes....

yesterday when they were covering the Nike plane that was in trouble..

*showing plane coming in for a landing* "well now that the landing gear is fixed this is going to be pretty uneventful now that the gear is fixed but we'll watch anyway"

or one day when oil was rallying...

"we're calling this a technical rally which means we really have no idea why it's rallying"
 
There is no accountability. Between the disclaimer and the presentation, there is really nothing to be held accountable for. Note that Pisani and others when claiming a reason for a move always preface the statement with "what I'm hearing here on the floor" or "traders are saying..." in other words it's not factual. It's what he's being told and he's just passing it along as any reporter would. Of course CNBC may hear 5 things and CHOOSE which one they pass along based on their perpetual positive bias.

They are geared for the casual retail trader who pays high commission and has little knowledge of the inner workings of the markets. CNBC has an inherent interest in promoting a bull market because more people will want to trade and viewership will increase, which increases ad revenue which secures their jobs and increases salaries for the Pisanis of the world.

The best thing to do is get the real story (elsewhere) and try to make a buck off the drivel getting spewed to the masses.
 
In fairness to reporters everywhere, it is really hard to know what precisely is moving the market a lot of the time. I can trade the Canadian dollar all day and think I know what was moving the market and then I get talking to my grain hedging buddies and they have a different idea about what is going on all together. It is the clash of ideas that make a market. You have to sort these out for yourself not rely on a reporter to tell you "the facts"
 
If they got sued for misinformation...

This guy would be a pauper! :p


cramer.jpg
 
Quote from Choad:

If they got sued for misinformation...

This guy would be a pauper! :p


cramer.jpg
More...

DUDE!

Don't post a picture like that!

It's WAY too early in the morning to have to look at THAT!

:eek:
 
Quote from illiquid:



Anyways, back to what's pertinent. News media are required to correct any mistakes immediately when discovered; so what about CNBC? Are they considered a "soft" news channel? When Bob the Stallion Pisani says stocks are going down because of X when it's obviously not the reason at all, can't he and CNBC be held liable for misinformation?

Or is it more like the weather report or The Enquirer?
More...

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With the exception of Art Cashin,Ken Heebner types,
look on CNBC as entertainment.

And while its true their charts are HIGHLY inaccurate;
its like child drawn refrigerator art, the kids that drew them were probably dong the best they can:D
 
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