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Apple pushed false information to find source of leaks

The leaker was identified as an Apple employee, now fired, and sister of a prolific Twitter user.

The leaker was identified as an Apple employee, now fired, and sister of a prolific Twitter user.

An Apple iPhone 13 Mini is pictured. (Photo by H.S. You via Flickr)
An Apple iPhone 13 Mini is pictured. (Photo by H.S. You via Flickr)

A Twitter account used to post leaks about upcoming Apple products and services abruptly shut down this month after the publisher’s sister was identified as the source of the information.

The leaker, who used the Twitter handle @Analyst941 (so named because they would post information around 9:41 AM Pacific Time), said their source was exposed after Apple unique forms of misinformation in an attempt to root out the person inside the company who was leaking information to the public ahead of official announcements.

In this case, Analyst941 claimed that Apple would release versions of its Final Cut Pro and Logic editing software for its iPad tablet line at some point next year. Apple actually revealed iPad versions of both products this week.

The wrong information was deliberately provided by Apple to the Twitter user’s sister, who was an Apple employee until this month, Analyst941 wrote in a post on the website MacRumours this week. Apple reportedly gave different release dates for the software to various people, then waited to see what Analyst941 reported on Twitter to track down the leaker inside the company.

“Unfortunately, the combination I shared on Twitter matched the combination given to my sister as the [Final Cut Pro and Logic] timeframe, along with other small factors,” Analyst941 said.

The name of the former Apple employee has not been identified, and Apple has not publicly commented on the matter. In the post on MacRumors, Analyst941 predicted Apple would soon take legal action over the posts.

(Screen capture by The Desk)
(Screen capture by The Desk)

Analyst941 first came to prominence last year after they predicted Apple would release a new version of their iPhone that eliminated the device’s oversized notch for circular cutouts, which Apple calls “Dynamic Island.” The feature was revealed by Apple when the company unveiled the iPhone 14 Pro a short time later.

Recently, Analyst941 offered a laundry list of predictions about a forthcoming version of Apple’s iOS software, which powers iPhone, iPad and Apple TV devices. Some information, including which iPhones will support the new version of iOS, have been contradicted by other Apple analysts, suggesting they are part of Apple’s misinformation campaign intended to root out people who leak the company’s information.