The common law definition of fraud is an act of deliberate deception for the purposes of personal gain. Both elements must be true for an act to constitute frau

The common law definition of fraud is an act of deliberate deception for the purposes of personal gain. Both elements must be true for an act to constitute fraud. If you say "I'm shorting x stock because of y" and you reasonably believe y to be true, then you're almost certainly acting lawfully. If you don't hold a position, you can say what you like about a company without the risk of committing fraud, because you don't stand to gain from your actions (although you may be guilty of libel). If you make public statements about a company and fail to disclose a financial interest, there's an inherent element of deception, regardless of the truthfulness of your statements.