GameStop Short-Seller Charged With $16M Fraud

GameStop Short-Seller Charged With $16M Fraud
Above: June 3, 2024: The Gamestop company logo is seen on display at the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading in New York City. Image copyright: Michael M. Santiago/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images

The Spin

Narrative A

The GameStop saga exposed the deeply corrupt nature of Wall Street's short-selling industry, particularly regarding "naked" short-selling— where investors sell more company stocks than exist, resulting in an artificial stock price drop. It's about time the government — whose regulators often work or worked for hedge funds — stopped ignoring the crimes of its friends on Wall Street and prosecuted these market manipulators.

Narrative B

Despite what many have heard, the GameStop saga wasn't some corrupt backdoor scheme. Short-selling, when done correctly, is a healthy part of trading that can identify fraud and help others hedge their trades. The inorganic retail trading frenzy of GameStop ended up hurting a lot of novice traders while big firms made millions. Instead of attacking short-selling, we should go after the larger system of central banks printing money for the rich as the poor get poorer.

Metaculus Prediction


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