A senior correspondent at Fox Business inadvertently called attention to a scam post on Twitter while trying to criticize Ripple’s connection with XRP.
A recent post from a fake Ripple account promoting a fraudulent XRP Airdrop event has garnered significant attention, with Fox News journalist Charles Gasparino inadvertently quoting the scam tweet.
Gasparino took to Twitter to express his surprise at Ripple’s repeated reminders that XRP and Ripple are not connected in response to the deceptive tweet from the scam account RippleXRP.
Ummm @Ripple keeps reminding me XRP and @Ripple are not connected in any way. I guess that ship has definitely sailed. Sad ha! https://t.co/ogKySGoZUH
— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) July 16, 2023
The fake account claimed that Coinbase had relisted XRP and announced a special free XRP airdrop as a token of appreciation for the XRP community.
Gasparino’s tweet has received over 528K views as of press time, with several users pointing out that he had quoted a scam account. Despite the comments highlighting the fraudulent nature of the tweet, it remained visible at the time of writing.
XRP influencer Mr. Huber mocked Gasparino’s mistake and said he deserves to be referred to as the “greatest laughing stock” in the history of Fox News. Another Twitter user sarcastically applauded Gasparino’s lack of due diligence in criticizing Ripple and unwittingly quoting a scam post.
Ripple CTO Weighs in
On the other hand, Ripple CTO David Schwartz absolved the Fox journalist of blame, expressing concerns that distinguishing a fake Twitter user from the real one is nearly impossible.
“It’s too bad there’s no way to tell which accounts are authentic and which aren’t. Then people wouldn’t get fooled by nonsensical misinformation like this,” Schwartz lamented.
It's to bad there's no way to tell which accounts are authentic and which aren't. Then people wouldn't get fooled by nonsensical misinformation like this. https://t.co/QpOAZzfET2
— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) July 17, 2023
It is worth noting that scammers often promote their scam giveaways via accounts bearing the blue checkmark. The blue checkmark previously served as the indicator to tell fake accounts from real ones before Elon Musk’s takeover. However, this measure was not foolproof.
Previous Warnings
Previously, the official Ripple account with a golden verified badge warned about scam accounts and fake executive profiles promoting “XRP Giveaways” or “XRP Airdrops.” It emphasized that Ripple and its executives would never ask users to send funds anywhere.
The recent court ruling has sparked a surge in excitement around Ripple.
Beware of scam Ripple accounts or fake executive accounts promoting "XRP Giveaways" or "XRP Airdrops". ???
Remember, Ripple and its executives will NEVER ask you to send funds anywhere. https://t.co/uGitnz71yn
— Ripple (@Ripple) July 14, 2023
Furthermore, as The Crypto Basic reported, the Ripple CTO has also addressed the issue, cautioning users about scammers who exploit the positive news of Ripple defeating the US regulator in the court to deceive and defraud unsuspecting people.
Schwartz clarified that no legitimate airdrops, giveaways, or special offers were associated with the recent court ruling.