On Reddit and Discord, Digital Day Traders Took On Wall Street

The retailer is obsolescent. A relic of an earlier time when video games, consoles and accessories were mainly purchased in brick-and-mortar stores. But an army of digital day traders, through collective action on Reddit’s WallStreetBets subreddit and a related Discord server, thinks differently.

This group props up a series of companies—including GameStop, Blackberry, AMC Theatres and Bed Bath & Beyond—that each held stronger financial positions and cultural significance in earlier decades, with the purpose of making loads of money and sticking it to the man.

When hedge funds decided to short-sell GameStop stock, buyers active on Reddit and Discord countered toward the end of last week by buying shares and options en masse to drive the share price up.