Former New Zealand Prime Minister, Sir John Key, says rumors circulating that he invested in Bitcoin are entirely false. The claim that Key is an avid investor in BTC originally came from a fake NZ Herald site, a link to which was then circulated on Facebook and Twitter.

The fake news claimed that Key was holding $300 mln in BTC from his initial investment of $1,000. It also includes a quote from Richard Branson, falsely attributed to Key in the report:

“I have invested in Bitcoin because I believe in its potential, the capacity it has to transform global payments is very exciting.”

– John Key 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand

Key and the real NZ Herald react

In his interview with the real New Zealand Herald, Key claimed that he had already requested Facebook to remove posts that linked to the fake Herald report about him. So far Facebook has refused. After multiple people contacted the former prime minister to tell him they invested in BTC because of his ‘advice,’ Key says it is irresponsible of Facebook not to take such posts down:

“This is outrageous. People are at risk here and you'd think Facebook would take their responsibilities seriously.”

Meanwhile, the real New Zealand Herald claimed that it has taken steps to have their imposter twin site removed.