A wave of anger erupted online on Friday after financial news platform Redbox shared — and later retracted — a ‘false’ update suggesting US President Donald Trump was set to impose tariffs on Indian IT services. The post caused heavy volatility in IT stocks, with the Nifty IT index plunging nearly 3% intraday before recovering.

The incident

Redbox initially reported that Trump had announced potential tariffs on Indian IT companies, which triggered panic selling across the sector since the source of Reuters. Infosys, TCS, and Wipro came under pressure before the platform issued a correction, clarifying that the update was based on a “discussion” from a local news channel and not an official proposal.

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By then, however, the damage was done — traders shared screenshots showing sharp intraday losses, with many blaming Redbox for triggering a chain reaction. Some even tagged SEBI to take action against such activities.

Netizens react

Social media was quick to condemn the episode. One user wrote, “The power Redbox holds is crazy, one fake news and it moves markets more than billions in real trades.”

Another trader fumed, “Need to start a campaign against Redbox for triggering my trend and wiping me out.”

 

Others highlighted the risks of unchecked reports moving markets. “Imagine this on an expiry day… markets will drop in seconds and then Redbox says it was a hoax,” one post read. Another added, “Redbox parody provides more value than the real Redbox.”

Market watchers called the incident a reminder of how misinformation can rattle investor sentiment in seconds. A veteran trader noted, “Redbox deleted its tweet, but the damage was already done — Nifty crashed 0.65% in just 20 minutes.”

The sharp reaction reflects growing concerns about the influence of instant financial news updates in an already sensitive market environment.

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TOPICS: Nifty IT