Report: 18-year-old planted fake Jobs heart attack story

It's still not clear whether the teen intended to profit from the phony post. Meanwhile, CNN has no plans to change the posting policies on its iReport "citizen journalist" site, although it added a prominent disclaimer to the top of the iReport home page.

Bloomberg reports that SEC officials continue to "examine" the motives of the 18-year-old suspected in posting the fake story, which climbed to the top of the iReport front page earlier this month and sent Apple shares into a brief nosedive.

Sources told Bloomberg that authorities "haven't found evidence" that the teen was seeking to profit by submitting the phony post, headlined "Steve Jobs rushed to ER following severe heart attack." The kid's name hasn't been released.

Meanwhile, a CNN spokesperson told Bloomberg News that it "doesn't plan to review its procedures for placing content" on its iReport site.

The iReport home page saw at least one significant change, however: a large banner at the top that reads, "Take note: iReport is a user-generated site … stories submitted by users are not edited, fact-checked or screened before they post."

That's an entirely appropriate (if belated) move, given that CNN branding still appears prominently on the iReport site. After all, while user-generated news sites like Digg are prone to false or inaccurate stories (which are typically flagged as such by eagle-eyed users), they're not all affiliated with a major news organization like CNN.

I still think iReport (as opposed to Digg) needs some editorial oversight on the front page—someone to double-check before an explosive (but untrue) post pops up as the lead story. Then again, putting that kind of oversight in place could leave CNN liable if a libelous and/or phony, market-moving story still managed to slip through the cracks. It's a sticky wicket, to say the least.

What do you think: Should CNN be in the Digg business? Or is a disclaimer enough?

Related:
Jobs Said to Be Targeted by Teen in Heart-Attack Tale [Bloomberg]