I think this is a common tactic. You can see it every year at the Sohn Conference. Notable short sellers like Jim Chanos will give pretty detailed speeches outl

I think this is a common tactic. You can see it every year at the Sohn Conference. Notable short sellers like Jim Chanos will give pretty detailed speeches outlining the case against some market sector or company. You can be damn sure they already have a huge short position against that company. As someone looking for a bet to make it's an interesting position to be in. They make a compelling case but you also know that they are heavily invested in you getting on the bandwagon. It's worth noting that publicizing the short might not be entirely about getting others in on the bet. Very often those speeches are the first time a larger audience (and the financial media) hear about the troubles in a particular company. That can help accelerate SEC investigations, customer churn, etc.