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Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Al Drago/Bloomberg
A Securities and Exchange Commission’s campaign geared toward educating the public about responsible investing is drawing ire from the Reddit retail investor crowd.
In a video posted on the SEC’s YouTube channel, a game show contestant named Brad picks the “meme stock” category and hits the “invest” buzzer. He immediately loses a pile of cash and is hit in the face with a pie. His opponent is rewarded when she says she’s going to do some research first.
The portrayal of “meme stocks” has sparked anger on Reddit investing forums, especially those dedicated to shares of
GameStop
(ticker: GME) and
AMC Entertainment Holdings
(AMC). On the AMCStock forum, a top post jokes that, after doing her research, the second contestant still picked meme stocks.
Posts about the video dominated the GameStop-focused SuperStonk forum, including one that netted 8,400 upvotes after accusing the regulator, without evidence, of treason.
An SEC spokesperson did not return a request seeking comment on the reaction to the video.
GameStop and AMC shares surged in 2021 as users on social media sites bought up stock in the heavily shorted firms. Both companies capitalized on social media enthusiasm by selling stock and pursuing investments to turn things around. Both stocks have fared worse in 2022, with GameStop dropping 18% and AMC falling 53%.
The video is a part of the SEC’s “Investomania” public service campaign, which the regulator says is meant to educate viewers…
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