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Sequel. Financial Times the Estonian way

Hello!

We all make decisions in our lives and work on the basis of the information known to us. In 2026, besides social media, the fresh world of LLMs — in everyday language AIs — has come into wide use in the world. Now and then in Estonian the technology is also called “tehisaru” (artificial mind). For all of us 2026 is a little unfamiliar. It is very hard to assess the value and timeliness of information sources.

At the moment historians often make no distinction between what is a real physical archive that once existed and what is its digitised reflection. Even sitting physically in an archive, unless we ask for the original document, we consume only a digital trace there. Sometimes this difference can be enormous.

As an IT enthusiast who has even managed to get a computer running a couple of times in his life, I have watched with interest since secondary school how people view and assess the reliability of their information sources. At the moment it seems that the slogan from my Soviet-era childhood, “You have to read between the lines”, is taking on a new meaning. I hope this time will soon be over. On the one hand we are all getting used to living in a time of constant change, and on the other hand all kinds of social regulators are quietly catching up with the times.

The previous Sunday letter “Financial Times the Estonian way” (if you missed it or want to look at it again):
https://lepik.co/en/postitused/2026-06-21-financial-times-eesti-moodi/

When I sent the previous letter on Sunday morning I was superficial — the thing seemed so logical that I did not look up the original Financial Times article. Since I noticed the topic long ago and it interests me, I have now corrected this mistake. I am sending a sequel.

This is instructive in its way: I wrote a story about how people believe information that “seems logical” without checking the source — and on first reading I made exactly the same mistake myself. Reading the original, two things caught my eye.

First, the author. The FT article was written by Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan; it appeared on 22 August 2024 in the Personal Finance section. The freely circulating reprint on the basis of which my first letter was born had given the author as a certain “Brett Hurll” instead — the aggregator had deleted the real author and put its own name in his place. The same story with a stranger’s name on it.

Second — and this is actually more important than the wrong author name — something I did not grasp on first reading.

I read Äripäev’s story on 21 June 2026 as fresh news — it was among the “Latest news” and the “Most read”, dated 21.06.26. In fact it is an article almost TWO YEARS old. Äripäev translated the FT story of August 2024 and served it as news in 2026. (To be fair: the FT is honestly credited in the story — just the 2024 date was not highlighted.) The content even gives itself away: as a “fresh” example it cites the UK’s average house price for JULY 2024 and wage growth for JUNE 2024. They were fresh then, not now.

And here is the point. In a rapidly changing field two years is a whole era. Look at what has actually happened in the meantime — what the “fresh” story does not tell:

— Luke Desmaris, the very “hustle bro” who in the story mentions Pablo Escobar on a balcony in Dubai and declares that you need 20,000 pounds a month for a “normal life”, has in the meantime received a CRIMINAL CHARGE from the British financial regulator FCA for unauthorised CFD promotion. He has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial in 2027 (up to 2 years in prison). The poster boy of the story now sits in the dock.

— Dubai, which in the FT story was named as precisely the jurisdiction beyond the reach of supervision (“how to counter it?”), introduced a licence requirement for financial influencers in 2025 — the first in the Middle East.

— In June 2025 nine regulators from six countries (UK, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Italy, UAE) formed a joint front: arrests, 650+ removal requests, 50+ sites shut down.

None of these developments are in the “fresh” 2026 story — because the story has not been touched since August 2024.

So back to Peeter and common sense. When checking a source it is not enough to ask “who wrote it?”. Just as important is “WHEN was it written?”. Today’s date at the edge of the page does not mean the content is from today. The most authoritative masthead can cover a two-year-old snapshot — and in two years the “guru” in the photo can end up in the dock.

———

SOURCES (for checking)

1. Original: Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan, “Selling financial freedom: a brash breed of influencers appeal to Gen Z investors”, Financial Times, 22.08.2024 (behind a paywall)
https://www.ft.com/content/f6e24a80-d227-46b5-8794-745ffcc09980

2. Freely readable reprint (wrong author name “Brett Hurll”):
https://www.gfmreview.com/breaking/the-rise-of-financial-influencers-gen-z-s-risky-path-to-wealth

3. Äripäev’s translation (21.06.2026):
https://www.aripaev.ee/uudised/2026/06/21/noored-investorid-langevad-finfluencerite-mojutuste-kuusi

4. FCA press release — Hunter, Kalipha and Desmaris charged, trial in 2027 (NB: accused, not convicted; they have pleaded not guilty):
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/first-court-appearance-three-finfluencers-charged-fca-led-global-crackdown-illegal-promotions

5. The National — the Dubai/UAE licence requirement and the international joint action:
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/2025/10/08/uk-finfluencers-to-face-trial-after-global-crackdown/

6. FCA — context of the earlier nine accused (May 2024 → trials 2027):
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/court-sets-dates-finfluencer-trials