Computer Bug Adds to Stock Panic?

An article is claiming that the stock plunge on Tuesday was made worse by a computer problem experienced by the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Essentially, the main DJIA system became overwhelmed by the volume of trading and could not keep up with displaying the actual stock prices. They switched over to a backup system, which caught up the display quickly - making it appears that prices were dropping even faster than they actual were. This panicked traders and caused even more selling than might otherwise have happened.

Let's be clear. The bug did not explicitly change results. The prices were correct in the system, and no trades were lost or distorted. The problem simply exacerbated the human emotional reaction by exaggerating how fast the drop seemed to happen on their displays.