> These guys walk off with a huge bag of cash, a bunch of investors that were trying to invest positively get screwed, the mall dies, and all that money and eco

> These guys walk off with a huge bag of cash, a bunch of investors that were trying to invest positively get screwed, the mall dies, and all that money and economic opportunity vanishes. There's nothing in the article to suggest they took any proactive steps to hurt the malls or the businesses in them. They simply identified some risky securities and placed a bet that they would decline in value. The investors that were 'trying to invest positively' should have perhaps some more due diligence on the assets they were buying. Activist short sellers do exist too. For example Hindenburg Research who it seems have done very well off the collapse in the Nikola share price. They certainly provided value to the market through their exposure of corporate frauds.