Israeli Defense Force’s historical tweet sends oil traders into panic mode

The Israeli military tweeted Thursday that Israel’s Air Force had bombarded airports in Syria to prevent weapons from reaching Syria. When word got out to violence-conscious oil traders, oil prices reportedly jumped $1.

The tweet that spawned the panic was factual–only it was recalling an event from 40 years ago. Using the hashtag #YomKippur73, the Israeli Defense Force’s Twitter account @IDFSpokesperson had been tweeting out events from 1973’s Yom Kippur war and the tweet in question was the latest installment.

“Obviously this was part of our Yom Kippur Twitter series. The facts are there and simple to read. It was apparent within the tweet itself,” said Peter Lerner, spokesman for the IDF.

Reuters reported that although oil traders quickly discovered the true nature of the tweet, the rise in oil prices remained.