Wallstreetbets 2mmember Gamestopanastasiowired: The popular subreddit known as r/WallStreetBets has been in the news a lot lately, that’s because its members have been accused of harassment. The website has over two million subscribers and is one of the most engaged communities on Reddit, with members discussing all sorts of financial topics and following the ups and downs of their favorite stocks.
This week, it was revealed that some users had been tweeting about GameStop’s declining stock for days before pushing it higher long enough to make money off of their bets. For example, one user tweeted about the retailer experiencing troubles on June 6th and another user replied a few hours later by saying GameStop’s stock would be moving higher in the next few days.
It turns out that information was correct and members of the subreddit used their knowledge to score some extra cash. According to MarketWatch , there are several other examples of this type of activity taking place on r/WallStreetBets and not just with GameStop. Some users had been buying shares on the retailer’s website even though it hadn’t yet released a quarterly earnings report. If a trader uses the same account to cover multiple purchases on the same day, they can collect more money than if they were using a different account.
Another member of r/WallStreetBets admitted to being involved in some of these purchases and says he’s not proud of what he did. “I don’t like losing,” the user said. “I’m a perfectionist, and I feel like I should be able to execute whatever scheme the market gives me. If I put in the work to succeed at something, I should be able to succeed.”
The r/WallStreetBets subreddit has been a fun place for members to follow their favorite stocks and make some extra money. However, the members of that community had no idea that they were helping push GameStop’s share price higher by spreading bogus information about their earnings report. This is just another example of how misinformation can hurt an individual investor and how these online communities can make money off of them.