Jessica Pressler of New York magazine was the first to mention the $72 million net worth figure in connection with a New York high school student who allegedly earned a fortune trading stocks during his lunch break. The widely-circulated story came under fire from Twitchy early today, and is now widely acknowledged to be false. The student, Mohammed Islam, says he has invested no money whatsoever in the stock market.
New York Observer: Is there ANY figure? Have you invested and made returns at all?
Mohammed Islam: No.
New York Observer: So it’s total fiction?
Mohammed Islam: Yes.
Today, several reporters took to Twitter to argue over who deserves credit for the debunking.
First, CNBC’s Kevin Krim tried to give credit to his colleague Scott Wapner:
Nice scoop for @ScottWapnerCNBC as just reported @CNBC — the "$72M Whiz Kid" story going around is false. Kids admit $ nowhere near $72M.
— Kevin Krim (@kevinkrim) December 15, 2014
Next, Business Insider’s Julia La Roche noted her role:
@kevinkrim I reported it about 2 hrs ago. http://t.co/oFeawK5ksC
— Julia La Roche (@JuliaLaRoche) December 15, 2014
Then another reporter who feels that she deserves credit weighed in:
@SallyPancakes @kevinkrim @ScottWapnerCNBC Actually not to toot my own horn guys but *I* was the first to report it was a rumor
— Jessica Pressler (@jpressler) December 15, 2014
Wait. What?!?
That is Jessica Pressler, the author of the debunked story. Is she trying to argue that she deserves credit for debunking herself? It appears so.
This despite having tweeted the $72 million figure:
https://twitter.com/jpressler/status/544325635892854784
Recommended
Pressler says she is comfortable with what’s in her piece:
@helaineolen @felixsalmon @ReformedBroker We saw a bank statement confirming the eight figures, & I'm comfortable with what's in the piece
— Jessica Pressler (@jpressler) December 15, 2014
@schargel MY story is true
— Jessica Pressler (@jpressler) December 15, 2014
Others aren’t so sure:
@jpressler It was published as if $72M was a fact in the headline, and affirmed in the piece as a rumor that "seemed legit."
— Ben Popper (@benpopper) December 15, 2014
@jpressler You need a brokerage statement. But really, you just wanted to publish so this is really all cover. @felixsalmon @ReformedBroker
— Tierra Partners (@tierrapartners) December 15, 2014
Though the headline was quietly altered earlier today, Pressler’s article still is factually inaccurate. The current version of the headline: “Because a Stuyvesant Senior Made Millions Picking Stocks. His Hedge Fund Opens as Soon As He Turns 18.” An earlier version of the headline: “Because a Stuyvesant Senior Made $72 Million Trading Stocks on His Lunch Break.” Both are wrong. As noted above, Islam reportedly told the New York Observer that he has neither invested nor earned any money in the stock market.
Here is an excerpt from the current version of Pressler’s article:
Mo started with penny stocks. A cousin showed him how to trade. He loved the feeling of risk—the way his hand shook making the trade—but he swore it off after losing a chunk of the money he’d made tutoring. “I didn’t have the balls for it,” he said. He was 9.
It was a while before he was ready to try again. In the meantime, he became a scholar of modern finance, studying up on hedge-fund managers. He was particularly enamored of Paul Tudor Jones. “I had been paralyzed by my loss,” Mo said. “But he was able to go back to it, even after losing thousands of dollars over and over. Paul Tudor Jones says, ‘You learn more from your losses than from your gains.’ ” Mo got into trading oil and gold, and his bank account grew. Though he is shy about the $72 million number, he confirmed his net worth is in the “high eight figures.”
Is Pressler really comfortable with that? Is New York magazine? Well, OK then.
Bottom line: it’s all your fault:
Hell is other people on social media –Sartre
— Jessica Pressler (@jpressler) December 15, 2014
Taking an uber, because fuck all of you
— Jessica Pressler (@jpressler) December 15, 2014
An interesting side note: Pressler recently criticized the lack of fact checking in the Rolling Stones’ article about an alleged rape at the University of Virginia:
https://twitter.com/jpressler/status/543044321277407233
The MSM is truly fortunate to have someone so committed to factual accuracy among its ranks. Give this woman a Pulitzer!
* * *
Update: New York magazine has added an editor’s note to Pressler’s article:
https://twitter.com/BKcolin/status/544681670876860416
* * *
Related:
Here’s why that viral story about $72 million stock market whiz kid ‘smells like B.S.’; Updated
10 ‘real reporters’ who swallowed story about $72 million stock market whiz kid
Story about kid who earned $72 million trading stocks on his lunch break gets even more ridiculous
Join the conversation as a VIP Member