FACT FOCUS: Walmart quashes cryptocurrency partnership claim

Walmart denied any partnership with the digital currency Litecoin after a fake news release briefly tripped up several national news outlets and social media users on Monday

NEW YORK -- Walmart denied any partnership with the digital currency Litecoin after a fake news release led to a brief flurry of inaccurate reports from national news outlets and social media users on Monday. A news release claiming a partnership between Walmart and Litecoin is “not real,” according to Walmart spokesperson Molly Blakeman. Charlie Lee, creator of Litecoin and managing director of the Litecoin Foundation, confirmed the release was fake. The false announcement was temporarily featured on a major press release wire and in outlets including Reuters, CNBC and Yahoo Finance, before being deleted and corrected. It wasn’t immediately clear who created it. Here's a closer look at the facts.