AMC stock pushers are another example of social media scariness

Published

2 years ago

September 8, 2023

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It was December of 2021. I had COVID and was on the verge of being officially diagnosed with prostate cancer. Things were pretty bad and suddenly got worse: I noticed Fire Gasparino trending on Twitter not because I had made up a story, or defamed someone.

My sin was reporting, continuously and accurately, that an investment cult had formed around the stock of the troubled movie theater chain known as AMC, pushing its shares well above where they should be. And like most cults, this one wouldnt end well.

The abuse lasted through Christmas. I guess I could have wilted and joined some of my colleagues in heralding the small investor-led movement around the stock as something biblical. David slays Goliath.

I didnt and kept reporting the story behind one of the most absurd and now costly stock pumps in recent history.

These days, Im glad I did.

Yes, I survived COVID, my cancer diagnosis and getting vilified by a Twitter mob just fine. In fact better than fine because of what happened next: The stock imploded as I reported it would. AMC was burning loads of cash, heading for bankruptcy or massive dilution to raise much-needed capital, neither good for shareholders.

Shares are down 95% since December 2021. About 10 days ago, the stocks crash and burn was complete as the company took concrete steps toward the issuance of a ton of new shares (aka diluting existing shareholders) and stay out of bankruptcy. Were it not for a bit of financial alchemy in a 10-for-1 reverse stock split, AMCs stock price would be reading just above $1.

Im not taking joy in people losing money but in people saving some. Anyone who followed my reporting on AMC saved themselves some real money. Those who followed cultists, the self-described AMC Apes or the cheerleading pseudo-journalists are paying the price.

Phil Graham, the brilliant but troubled former publisher of The Washington Post, came up with the truism about the profession of journalism as being the first rough draft of history. That was back in the early 1960s before he killed himself in a fit of depression.

I wonder what Phil Graham would call what goes down on the rebranded Twitter site X or any of the other instantaneous social-media feedback loops that are now competing with real reporting. A really, really, really rough draft of history?

Social media is great in so many ways. Yes, its a draft of history, even if its really rough, and that often serves a purpose through the exchange of ideas to make an informed judgment. Its also an outlet for people desperately searching for purpose, and while theyre at it, indulging in their worst instincts and behaviors. Its a breeding ground for the cult.

How cults are created is an age-old question. The result is deadly and near deadly stuff like Jonestown and Pizzagate and the financially deadly stuff that surrounded the stock of AMC. The weird notion that a cabal of greedy hedge funds, hell-bent on destroying the nations largest movie theater chain, were shorting the stock (betting its price would collapse) in dark corners of Wall Street does seem appealing.

That average people could buy this stock, and destroy a bunch of nasty hedge funds while becoming rich, even more so.

Just one problem: Nothing close to what the cult was blathering about was true. The evidence of this scheme thrown around Twitter or the Reddit message boards was of the wackadoo variety. And If you dared question the illogic, as I did, be prepared for harassment like youve never seen before.

The power of social media is intense and crazy, of course, and it made this cult particularly nasty and resilient over the past two-plus years. That is until the hammer finally fell just days ago and the AMC cult ended like they all do in disaster.

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Its a shame more reporters didnt call this out. It was so obvious based on what you can find on a balance sheet. Short sellers made hundreds of millions of dollars in August because AMCs finances included massive cash burn, lots of debt and movie attendance that due to streaming hasnt returned to pre-pandemic levels.

CEO Adam Aron, not exactly a short seller, recently explained AMCssituation in a call withanalysts. Business is getting better Barbenheimer was a box office hit; a Taylor Swift film coming to AMC theaters in October is crushing it in pre-sales. But he said that if he cant raise money by selling more stock, Chapter 11 is almost inevitable. He recently beat back an Ape-inspired lawsuit challenging his dilution plan, because they believe AMC is really doing just fine and doesnt need the money.

It does, of course, and the coming dilution is why AMC, for now, and maybe for the foreseeable future, is still in business, even as its stock is battered and bruised.

Some of the Apes are still HODL (holding on for dear life, in the lingua franca of the cult), and still attacking those they see as backing the evil hedge funds. Thats scary.

Even more scary: Far too many reporters over the past three years sought the cults approval because it feels good to be applauded on social media. It also helps you build your followers, which is also idiotically important to reporters these days.

They are truly sellouts to the profession, because they should know, based on the history, cults never end well.

World

At least 20 dead and 150 injured after magnitude 6.3 earthquake in north Afghanistan

Published

4 mins ago

November 3, 2025

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At least 20 dead and 150 injured after magnitude 6.3 earthquake in north Afghanistan

At least 20 people have died after a magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Afghanistan, the Taliban has said.

The tremor was recorded near the city of Mazar-e Sharif, in the northern Balkh province, at around 12.59am on Monday (8.29pm in the UK).

The Taliban Health Ministry added that 320 were injured, while ministry spokesperson Sharfat Zaman said that the numbers of dead and injured might rise.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) has issued an orange alert on its system of quake impacts, and suggested that “significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread”.

Previous events at that alert level have required a regional or national level response, according to the USGS’s alert system.

Balkh province spokesperson Haji Zaid added that the earthquake destroyed part of the city’s holy shrine, known as the Blue Mosque.

The United Nations in Afghanistan said on X that it is on the ground assessing needs and delivering aid, and that: “We stand with the affected communities and will provide the necessary support.”

Mazar-e Sharif is the fifth-largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of around 523,000.

Located on two major active fault lines, Afghanistan is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes: More than 1,400 people were killed and at least 3,250 others injured after a magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit the country’s eastern regions in September.

That tremor wiped out villages in the Mazar Dara valley, which Sky’s Asia correspondent Cordelia Lynch visited in October.

In 2015, an earthquake struck northeastern Afghanistan, killing several hundred people in Afghanistan and nearby northern Pakistan.

Four large earthquakes also struck in the Herat province in 2023, each magnitude 6.3. The Taliban said at the time that at least 2,445 people had died.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the latest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

US

Donald Trump says he feels ‘badly’ for royals after Andrew stripped of titles over Epstein row

Published

4 mins ago

November 3, 2025

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Donald Trump says he feels 'badly' for royals after Andrew stripped of titles over Epstein row

Donald Trump has said he feels “badly” for the Royal Family after Andrew Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his titles – as it emerged he could also be stripped of his honorary rank of vice admiral.

Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One, the US president was asked about his thoughts on the King’s decision to strip his brother of his peerages in the wake of further disclosures about his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

“It’s a terrible thing that’s happened to the family,” Mr Trump said. “That’s been a tragic situation. It’s too bad. I feel badly for the family.”

The King’s brother was stripped of his prince and Duke of York titles by the monarch over his links to Epstein on Thursday.

He lost his last remaining royal titles and privileges following the posthumous publication of a memoir by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims.

She had accused Andrew of sexual assault and sued him in August 2021. The case was settled outside court for a sum believed to have been around £12m.

Andrew has denied allegations of sexual assault made by Ms Giuffre, and has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing.

Ms Giuffre, who took her own life earlier this year, claimed that – as a teenager – she had sex with Andrew on three occasions after being trafficked by billionaire paedophile Epstein and his ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

Andrew has always denied the allegations.

Ms Giuffre’s family hailed the King’s decision to remove Andrew’s titles, saying: “An ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family, brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage.”

Mr Trump has also come under pressure over his ties to Epstein. After the financier’s death in 2019, the US president downplayed their relationship and said he had “no idea” about Epstein’s crimes.

Andrew could lose vice admiral rank – Healey

It comes after Defence Secretary John Healey told Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that the former prince could be stripped of his honorary rank of vice admiral

Andrew was made a vice admiral on his 55th birthday in 2015 and retained the rank even after giving up his other military positions in 2022.

He had a career spanning more than 20 years in the Royal Navy, and served in the Falklands War.

Mr Healey told Sky News: “We’ve seen Andrew surrender the military positions that he’s had and we’re looking now at the one remaining position he has, which is the honorary vice admiral position and, we’ve got a process underway for that.”

Asked what that process is, he said: “We’re being guided by the King and we’re now looking to remove.”

Mr Healey was also asked if the government would legislate to remove Andrew from the line of succession.

He said that is a “matter for the King” but his personal view is “it’s neither here nor there” as Andrew has lost all other of his royal titles.

Meanwhile, Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative Party chairman, told Trevor Phillips: “Andrew’s 8th in line to succession of the monarchy.

“Parliament’s got many better things to do than to legislate for something that will never happen.”

Now simply known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor after losing his titles, he will move from Royal Lodge to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk – with his future accommodation to be privately funded by the monarch.

Pressure is now building on Andrew to give evidence before a powerful US Congressional committee.

The House Oversight Committee is investigating the Epstein affair, and several of its members have invited Andrew to come and give evidence, presenting it as an opportunity to clear his name.

Royal biographer Andrew Morton said he believes there “are more revelations to come” about Epstein from the committee.

He told Sky News: “Given the fact that Andrew hasn’t been fully comprehensive in his admissions and emails have emerged which go further than his Newsnight interview, I think that will be the fear inside the palace.”

In a 2019 interview with Newsnight, Andrew claimed that he cut off contact with Epstein in 2010 following his release from jail for prostituting minors.

However, emails released since suggest they stayed in touch for longer.

Politics

French MPs advance measure to tax crypto as ‘unproductive wealth’

Published

5 mins ago

November 3, 2025

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French MPs advance measure to tax crypto as ‘unproductive wealth’

Lawmakers in France’s National Assembly have passed an amendment that would consider larger crypto holdings “unproductive wealth” and subject them to taxation.