Venezuela arrests two for banking rumor Tweets

A Twitter page is displayed on a laptop computer in Los Angeles October 13, 2009. Hollywood is increasingly relying on Twitter and Facebook to gauge popular buzz on movies even before they come out, in a move reflecting the power of average filmgoers over once-mighty film critics and detailed surveys. Picture taken October 13.

Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

By Daniel Wallis

CARACAS | Thu Jul 8, 2010 7:20pm EDT

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan police said on Thursday they arrested two people for spreading false rumors on the micro-blogging site Twitter aimed at destabilizing the Latin American country's banking system.
While Venezuela's big banks are generally seen as structurally sound, a number of takeovers of small failing banks since last year triggered rumors of impending disaster in the sector, worrying savers.
"Anybody who spreads malicious rumors by any means, emails, SMS messages on cellphones, Twitter, Facebook ... or any other means of communication is committing a crime and should answer for it before the competent authorities," Wilmer Flores Trosel, head of the CICPC national investigative police unit, said in a statement.

How To Write Better Tweets

How To Write Better Tweets

 

As silly as it sounds, there’s an art to Twitter. Combining a call to action with useful information all inside 140 characters is something that takes practice. The same way journalists had to learn to use the new medium of blogging, tweeting is a new skill that must be mastered. It’s more personal, it’s more succinct and it’s real-time. But just because the information passes more quickly and in fewer characters doesn’t mean it’s less important. In fact, incorrectly tweeting can be a recipe for total brand disaster and each word counts.