Washington Post column claims hedge fund managers are the 'good guys' of the GameStop saga

"Their goal is to destroy the traders who link stock prices to fair value," wrote Sebastian Mallaby.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The Washington Post published an article on Saturday defending the hedge fund short sellers as the "good guys" of the GameStop short squeeze saga.

GameStop experienced a sudden, unexpected, and unprecedented surge in the price of its stocks last week after a number of users of the subreddit r/WallStreetBets realized that the stock was being shorted at more than 100% of its total market value.

"Their goal is to destroy the traders who link stock prices to fair value," wrote Sebastian Mallaby. "To suggest a political analogy, they are not just blindly devoted to their candidate; they deny the legitimacy of the opposition party. They are not just acting within the system; they want to overthrow the system."

Many of the investors who helped raise the price of GameStop stocks have argued that short selling, the process of betting against the success of a stock, is itself immoral. Some have suggested that it amounts to betting against the prosperity of your fellow man as a reason for this. According to its detractors, it goes far beyond ordinary stock trading, which has mutual benefit, to short sellers benefiting from the misery of others.

Mallaby, however, defended short selling, arguing "there is nothing evil about this. To the contrary, it’s a way of keeping prices honest. A market without short sellers is like a political system without investigative journalists."

"There is a difference between trading based on evidence and research and trading based on conspiracy theories and mob tactics," he finished.

Mallaby did not identify the conspiracy theories he referenced.

Other supporters of the users of r/WallStreetBets have argued that what they did was no less ethical than what traders on Wall Street do on a daily basis, noting that trading stocks is a risky game and the hedge funds which invested in GameStop just happened to lose out.

Other companies such as Robinhood have also faced criticism for prohibiting users from continuing to purchase stock in GameStop, which detractors have described as "market manipulation." Robinhood has financial connections to at least one hedge fund which has been financially affected by the GameStop short squeeze.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Join and support independent free thinkers!

We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.

Support The Post Millennial

Remind me next month

To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 The Post Millennial, Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell My Personal Information