Rumors on the World Wide Web go together as well as peanut butter and jelly. And while Apple has mostly dealt with rumors and erroneous reports by largely ignoring them, the Cupertino-based tech giant has done something rather unprecedented. It's calling out a media source that published false information.
Recently, BGR published an alleged email correspondence between an angry iPhone 4 customer and Apple CEO Steve Jobs. In the email exchange, Jobs responded to the harsh criticisms with terse, condescending remarks like: "You are getting all worked up over a few days of rumors. Calm down." Within a short period of time, these comments from Steve Jobs exploded across the web and were taken as fact.
The only problem is that an Apple spokesperson is explicitly addressing the story, which was first covered by BGR. According to Fortune, "Asked on the record whether Steve Jobs was the author of any of these statements, a top Apple spokesman emphatically denied it." Implying that BGR is basically reporting false information, the Apple spokesperson wanted to be clear - Steve Jobs didn't make the comments or draft the email that circulated around the web at lightning speed.
Of course, it should be noted that the published email, while alleged to be fake, isn't necessarily the brainchild of BGR. In fact, there are hoaxsters just as there are hackers, and they get a thrill by convincing the big boys in print and online media to lend coverage to their fabricated stories. What's more, it's a safe bet that most readers, including our savvy readership at MMi, take every rumored email from Steve Jobs with a grain of salt - a practice that now more than ever warrants continuing.
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