Markets Magazine

These Online Detectives Have Raised $300 Million to Keep Lies From Triggering the Next Bank Run

The Silicon Valley Bank crisis shows how panic spreads. Companies like Alethea and Graphika are using AI software to fight disinformation.

Disinformation Detectives HP — Illustration: Carolina Moscoso for *Bloomberg Markets*

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Margi Murphy

April 24, 2023 at 2:00 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

This article is part of the April 28, 2023 issue of Markets.

Shawn Eib was on the case as soon as customers started pulling billions of dollars from Silicon Valley Bank. At home in Virginia, he began scrolling on his laptop through the internet’s dark corners. Dubious sources, including a website the US military accuses of promoting Russian propaganda, fanned the panic.

Another posting, which prosecutors have tied to a Chinese business executive facing US fraud charges, blamed the bank’s failure on the Communist Party of China’s “unrestricted financial warfare.” Many others paired comments with come-ons for cryptocurrency get-rich-quick schemes. “I could have made a fortune like this guy!” one read.