14 DAY TRIAL // A citizen report published on CNN's iReport this Friday and saying Steve Jobs had had a heart attack has been vehemently denied by Apple. Soon after the malicious report was published, Apple's stock reached its lowest point in 17 months ($94.65).
Reuters could soon confirm that Apple's chief executive was fine, citing Apple spokesman Steve Dowling as saying "It is not true." CNN is defending itself by saying its iReport site is a venue where ordinary citizen journalists can share their "passion about the news." The report of Steve Jobs having a heart attack was since pulled, but quick-acting blokes over at Silicon Alley Insider copied the original story in time. An excerpt is available below.
Steve Jobs was rushed to the ER just a few hours ago after suffering a major heart attack. I have an insider who tells me that paramedics were called after Steve claimed to be suffering from severe chest pains and shortness of breath. My source has opted to remain anonymous, but he is quite reliable. I haven't seen anything about this anywhere else yet, and as of right now, I have no further information, so I thought this would be a good place to start. If anyone else has more information, please share it.
Apple and its shareholders have been plagued by ongoing rumors about Jobs' health ever since the company's chief executive beat a rare form of pancreatic cancer years ago. While the illness caused Jobs to lose a considerable amount of weight over the years, the Apple official line has it that he is out of harm's way, occasionally catching a cold at most. However, since Jobs' keynote address at Apple's WWDC this year, where he appeared thinner than ever before, speculation reached critical levels again, with reports claiming the cancer had returned. Apple continues to deny such allegations, while fear still looms in the hearts of shareholders.
After Dowling denied the fake rumor, Apple's shares climbed 3.9 percent to $104.04 on Nasdaq, AppleInsider reports. Also following these events, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it would be investigating the false report that Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack.