George Soros speaks at a conference in Berlin, April 2012. (photo credit: AP)
Reuters news agency apologized Thursday night for mistakenly publishing a pre-written obituary of Jewish financier and philanthropist George Soros.
The obituary was posted on the Reuters news feed with the headline “George Soros, enigmatic financier, liberal philanthropist dies at XX,” and was removed shortly afterwards — but not before attracting considerable social media ridicule for the news agency.
“A spokesman for Soros said that the New York-based financier is alive and well. Reuters regrets the error,” read a later post on the Reuters news feed.
Reuters mistakenly published a pre-written obituary of financier George Soros (photo credit: screen capture Reuters.com)
The 1,100 word obituary, penned by Todd Eastham, described Soros as “a predatory and hugely successful financier and investor,” going on to discuss his possible role in triggering the Asian financial crisis of 1997, his investment philosophy influenced by the teachings of Karl Popper and his global and political financial contributions.
News of the Reuters mistake spread across the Internet like wildfire, with thousands of mentions on Facebook and Twitter.
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Reuters reporter Mathew Keys wrote that “George Soros is living every man’s dream: Reading what people might say about him at his funeral.”
Earlier this week, Forbes Israel ranked Soros, 82, as the world’s seventh-richest Jew, with an estimated fortune of $19.2 billion.
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