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The stock market is often driven by emotion. Information breaks about a company struggling to reach profitability or wider economic news is communicated, and it can send the markets into hysteria. Pair that with social media, and it can cause real problems. Investors choosing to act on such emotion can create a real problem for their portfolios, particularly if the information isn’t 100% accurate.

Protecting assets is essential for Americans as misinformation or lack of clarity rattles markets. Here are three times a false alarm brought turmoil to stocks and how to protect your money in those times.

Hysteria in the market doesn’t always mean it’s a bad day for stocks. News around President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs is one example. After Trump’s Liberation Day for tariffs, the market saw vast losses impacting investors.

That was until an inaccurate X post claimed the White House was considering a 90-day pause of tariffs. The news brought jubilee, with markets spiking nearly 10%, or $2.4 trillion in value, according to the Wall Street Journal. Unfortunately, the information was incorrect. The tweet, attributed to Walter Bloomberg, was ultimately deleted.

The Wall Street Journal states the source of the information remains uncertain. The rally was brief, with the market closing largely flat for the day, with the S&P 500 up roughly 100 points.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the markets by storm. Tech stocks, in particular, have benefited from the explosion of AI. When Chinese startup DeepSeek introduced a new, free AI assistant that claims to use significantly less data, the market reacted swiftly.

On Jan. 27, investors worldwide unloaded tech stocks out of fear that DeepSeek would quickly amass power. Nvidia led the losers, creating a loss of $593 billion, according to Reuters, which was a record single-day loss in terms of market cap for any listing on Wall Street. Other companies joined in monumental losses, with the Nasdaq closing down over 4% for the day.

Things aren’t as bleak for Nvidia today, with the stock trading at roughly the same price it did at the beginning of 2025.

The Nikkei in Japan is a leading stock exchange worldwide. It experienced tumult in August 2024 over fears related to issues with Yen carry trade. Fear spiked that investors would need to sell holdings to cover losses tied to their yen trades.

The result was a loss not seen since 1987, with the Nikkei falling 12% on Aug. 5, 2024, according to Reuters. The S&P 500 followed, losing 8% in a two-day period. Thankfully, the loss was short-lived, as Reuters notes that the S&P 500 recovered its losses within two weeks, and the Nikkei followed suit in a month.

Protecting assets can be a challenge for many Americans during false alarms in the stock market. Selling stocks is an understandable knee-jerk reaction. Such action can easily derail years of planning, especially if it’s on the heels of fake headlines.

Diversifying your portfolio weekly and rebalancing it regularly are good ways to safeguard assets. Volatility in the market is normal, but proper due diligence is crucial before making rash decisions that could result in significant losses. If you have a financial advisor, consider speaking with them to verify you’re on target with your investment plan.

Social media and potentially false headlines can drive emotion. Before making fearful decisions, do research to verify validity before taking action that could lead to needlessly painful losses.