With a put option hedge, they are not necessarily betting that it will fail and often are not betting that it will fail. Unlike just borrowing shares to short,

With a put option hedge, they are not necessarily betting that it will fail and often are not betting that it will fail. Unlike just borrowing shares to short, someone with a put option, but who is long in the stock, will have a fixed loss on the option if the stock doesn't fall. They buy a put option to protect the possible downside of their long position, with a fixed loss in the case of the stock not falling, while if the stock does fall, they'll be able to recoup some of their losses from the fall in value of their long position.