CNN and Apple are running damage control in response to a fraudulent post on CNN's iReport collaborative news site claiming Steve Jobs was rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart attack this morning. The anonymous poster wrote that Jobs was taken to an emergency room after suffering shortness of breath and chest pain, according to an unnamed but "quite reliable" source. As the news circulated, Apple's stock began a nose-dive, dipping below $95 before recovering. Apple quickly responded to press inquiries, flat-out denying the news as patently false. Shortly thereafter CNN pulled the story off iReport. In a statement, it distanced itself from the content on the user-reported site, calling the matter a Terms of Use violation that resulted in the disabling of the user's account. It's not yet known if the false report was made out of malice, as a joke, or possibly as a calculated attempt to manipulate Apple's stock.

[Image courtesy of ZDNet]