A video in which American investor Leon Cooperman speaks in a TV news interview has been shared thousands of times on social media. However, the short video contains Cooperman’s remarks on two separate issues made at different points in his interview. In the edited version shared on social media, it is presented in a way that can mislead viewers.
In both tracks, a headline reads on the news banner: “Reddit users arouse volatility in stocks like GameStop, AMC.”
The interview was part of a Fast Money Halftime Report segment on the CNBC news channel, and can be seen in full here.
A 16-second segment of this segment, which received thousands of interactions via a tweet (here), says Cooperman: “The reason the market does what it does is: people sit at home and get their checks from the government.” Then a second track begins: ‘And this’ fair part’ is a nonsense concept. It’s just a way to attack wealthy people, and I know it’s inappropriate. We all had to work together and pull together. ”
An article published on CNBC’s website (here) provides context for the first comment. Cooperman said he does not blame people who bought GameStop shares, although he predicted that the strategy would not end well.
The full quote from the first track in this part of the interview reads: “It’s all interconnected, it’s all interconnected. The reason the market does what it does is: people sit at home and get their checks from the government, and basically trade for no commissions and no interest rates. I’m not saying they’re stupid. Show me a guy with a good record, and I’ll show you a smart guy. ‘It begins at about 28:52 in CNBC’s full episode of Fast Money Halftime Report.
The second track comes from later in the interview (starting around 32:16 of the episode), as Cooperman responded to comments from Democrats that wealthy people will have to pay a ‘fair share’, a term that Janet Yellen, minister of finance, used in the Senate. testimony the previous week. She said: “Biden will require companies and the richest Americans to pay their fair share.”
Cooperman’s full answer to this was: ‘I hate the expression [‘fair share’] with a passion. What does ‘fair share’ mean? I have said several times on your program that I am prepared to work for the government six months a year, six months for myself, which means a marginal tax rate of 50%. You live in California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, you’re all over it. And this ‘fair share’ is a nonsense concept. It’s just a way to attack wealthy people, and I know it’s inappropriate. We all had to work together and pull together. ”
An explanation from Reuters about how retailers are pushing Wall Street for bets against video game retailer GameStop can be seen here.
VERDICT
Missing context. Two quotes by Leon Cooperman have been compiled in such a way that some people understand that he is talking about one topic. Cooperman said he does not condemn people who have invested in GameStop shares. Later in the interview, he reacts angrily to the term ‘fair share’ used in connection with rich people paying more taxes.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to actually check social media posts.