At first glance, the GameStop frenzy of early 2021 looked like a market oddity, a one-off event fueled by hype and social media buzz. But under the surface, something much bigger was happening. When retail traders on Reddit’s WallStreetBets (WSB) forum piled into GameStop stock, they weren’t just inflating its share price — they were challenging the very foundations of financial expertise.
Hedge funds that had confidently bet against the struggling video game retailer suddenly found themselves caught in a historic short squeeze, hemorrhaging billions. On the other side, everyday investors — many with no formal finance background — were turning “memes” and collective action into massive, market-moving power.
THE RISE OF POPULAR EXPERTISE
Financial expertise has long been defined by degrees, certifications and institutional backing. But retail investors on WSB weren’t interested in playing by those rules. Instead of trusting traditional authorities, they built their own system — one that blended in-depth analysis with humor, memes and a profound mutation of financial jargon. Our study explores this phenomenon.
Their due diligence (DD) posts broke down financial models, technical analysis and valuation techniques — but with a twist. Instead of dense reports, they used internet slang. Instead of dry market forecasts, they threw in emojis. Complex financial theories? Translated into memes. And when predictions went wrong? They laughed at themselves, turning losses into shared community moments.
The result? A new kind of expertise — one that made investing accessible, engaging and completely different from the buttoned-up world of Wall Street.
THE POWER OF COLLECTIVE ACTION
WSB’s movement was about more than making money though — it was about proving a point. Retail investors believed the stock market was rigged in favor of hedge funds, especially those that profited from short selling — betting against struggling companies. To them, the GameStop saga was a chance to flip the script. And flip it they did.
In early 2021, WSB members orchestrated a buying frenzy, sending GameStop’s stock price soaring and forcing hedge funds into massive losses. Their success proved that financial expertise doesn’t have to come from Wall Street — it can be built through crowdsourced intelligence, online collaboration and a deep understanding of market mechanics.
BLENDING TRADITIONAL AND POPULAR EXPERTISE
What makes WSB’s approach unique is not that they ignored traditional financial expertise — it’s that they remixed it to fit their style. Instead of dry, technical reports, they turned investing into something engaging, accessible and fun. For example:
• Fundamental analysis: WSB traders still dug into earnings reports, cash flow statements and valuation models — just like Wall Street analysts. But instead of presenting it in complex finance-speak, they broke it down in plain language, often with humor and memes.
• Technical analysis: Advanced concepts like “gamma squeezes” and “short interest ratios” were discussed in detail. But instead of intimidating charts and formulas, they came packaged with inside jokes and internet slang that made them easier to digest.
• Behavioral finance: WSB understood that market psychology drives prices as much as fundamentals do. Their strategy relied on collective action — knowing that a well-coordinated buying surge could send hedge funds scrambling to cover their short positions.
So through blending real financial expertise with humor, storytelling and viral content, WSB made investing more than just numbers on a screen. They made it a movement — one that invited retail investors to learn, participate and take control of the game. And that is the crux of our research paper.
IMPLICATIONS FOR FINANCIAL MARKETS
The rise of WSB signals a major shift in how financial expertise is created and shared. Here’s what’s changed:
• Expertise is not just for Wall Street: Financial knowledge is no longer locked behind hedge funds and investment banks. Retail investors, using online research and collaborating in real time, have shown they can analyze markets, spot opportunities, and even outperform professionals.
• Anyone can participate: The barriers to investing have crumbled. With free trading platforms like Robinhood and eToro, and the widespread availability of financial data, more people from diverse backgrounds are entering the market, bringing fresh perspectives and new trading strategies.
• Regulators are scrambling to keep up: The way WSB traders move markets — through viral posts and coordinated buying — doesn’t fit traditional definitions of “market manipulation”. Regulators are now rethinking old rules to address this new era of social-media-driven trading.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The rise of WSB and popular expertise raises important questions about the future of financial markets. Will institutional investors adapt by incorporating grassroots knowledge into their strategies? Will regulators impose new rules to address the influence of online communities on stock prices? And most importantly, will the democratization of expertise continue, or will traditional financial elites find ways to reassert their dominance?
The answers to these questions remain unclear. But one thing is clear: the days of expertise being solely defined by Wall Street are over. In the digital age, knowledge is power — and WSB’s retail investors have shown that expertise can come from anywhere, even an online forum filled with memes, slang, and a deep distrust of hedge funds.
Applications
Retail investors, through platforms like WallStreetBets (WSB), can challenge traditional market power by uniting around shared dissatisfaction. Using humor, crowd-sourced analysis and unconventional narratives, they created “popular expertise” that challenges big investors and changes how markets work.
Methodology
We analyzed 150 of the top Due Diligence posts on WSB, comprising 165,293 words, and carried out interviews with eight members of the WSB community, to explore how financial analysis, memes and shared grievances drive grassroots market movements. Our study highlights how these digital communities build alternative expertise and challenge institutional control.
