Earlier quoted context omitted.
Serious question: Is this even actually a thing that happens? I mean, obviously, it stands to reason that the right actor with the right investment portfolio and control of the right media outlets could pull something like this off, but it seems that there are very, very few people/companies in that position. In fact, the Jeff Bezos / WaPo / Amazon nexus is perhaps the only example I can think of where this sort of t…
It happened just a few weeks ago with Shopify and the Citron Report. The Citron Report's author often finds stocks that have gone up, places shorts, and then promotes the idea that these companies are scams with no fundamental value. He's made a considerable amount of money doing this.
This guy runs a blog about companies that he thinks are over-valued, and he shorts their stock. He's transparent about all of this. His readers / investors / the public know that he's likely short these stocks and that he makes a business of both using this investment strategy and blogging about it. They follow his advice at their own risk, with all of the information fully available.
There's a HUGE difference between that and getting into a position that you don't disclose, manipulating a media outlet into running coverage that appears objective but which is actually designed to do nothing but help your position, and then cashing out.