Authority within a Discord community is defined as the ability to influence other members
through various communication methods, shared goals, and interests. According to Swales, a Discord
community is a group that shares the same goal and purpose, and they use communication methods to
achieve that goal. Simply, methods such as news, online chat, phone call, emailing, etc. are possible
communication methods that one may use to connect with other members within a Discord community.
This participatory mechanism fosters engagement and enhances the ability to influence each other,
thereby bringing members closer and achieving greater goals. Drawing from this idea, it is possible to
deduce that authority in the WallStreetBet Reddit community is gained through the ability to educate,
connect with others and embody the community's overarching goal.
The WallStreetBet community comprises over 13 million users, predominantly under the age of
40, who identify themselves as apes, retards, or degenerates. Despite the notoriety surrounding the
community's reckless stock market bets, its members share a common goal. To achieve this goal,
authoritative figures in the community utilize various discoursal features to unite the group and expand
their influence. This essay will examine how authority works within WallStreetBet community by
analyzing how a prominent figure within the group, Keith Gill also known as Roaring Kitty, manages to
shape the community and gain authority by using available communication methods and shared goals to
achieve the impossible.
Despite the community's reputation as a haven for internet trolls, it is a valuable resource for
individuals seeking to enhance their financial knowledge and skills. Within the group, members are
classified into four tiers: new user, active user, experienced user, and elite user, with experienced and
elite users often serving as experts who have been in the market for several years. Often, these experts
post market or news analyses to guide inexperienced traders in their financial decisions. Interactions
such as these are where respect, and authority is gained, as well as creating a bond between members.
In late 2019, by sharing his research as well as educating newer members, Keith Gill was able to
establish himself as an expert and leader within the WallStreetBet community. He also encouraged
others to do their own due diligence and to think critically about their investment decisions. This
approach helped to foster a culture of learning and growth within the community, which further
solidified Gill's status as a respected leader and expert.
The WallStreetBet community holds a sacred goal that all members share. For a long time,
financial markets were controlled by large institutions that manipulated them to their advantage
through biased news, price prediction manipulation, and dissemination of false information. The
WallStreetBet community and its authoritative figures believe that this injustice must end. Keith Gill also
shares this belief. He believes that small individual traders, when united, can disrupt or even overturn
powerful financial institutions. By aligning himself with the community's goal, Gill gained support from
many members, and through determination and the support of millions of individual traders, achieved
something that no other individual had done before. Working together, the group created a
phenomenon called a "short squeeze," whereby a financial company is forced to buy back shares of
GameStop at a price ten times their value to cover their bet. At the end of this fiasco, Melvin Capital,
one of the big institutions, lost 30% of its company value over several months, with the losses on
GameStop estimated at 20 billion dollars.
Members of the community use the readily available Reddit platform as a means of
communication to assert their authority. Before and during the GameStop fiasco, Reddit was constantly
used by Keith Gill and other members of the group. As an online platform, Reddit enables members to
reach each other globally with the click of a mouse. New information such as news, analysis, and
educational materials are shared and exchanged within the group at lightning speed. During that time,
GameStop's share price was heavily manipulated by institutions such as Melvin Capital, which used a
method called "shorting" to sell the share and profit when the share price fell further. Keith Gill noticed
that Melvin Capital had shorted GameStop over 100% of its existing shares, a move deemed too greedy
and risky by other financial institutions. Gill understood that if enough people bought back the share and
raised the price to a certain point, Melvin Capital would be forced to liquidate its position. He then
spread this news across the community by making numerous postings on Reddit. Using Reddit as a
means to interact with members, Gill convinced many key members of the Reddit group. As more
members began to understand the huge implications of what was happening, more information was
shared, and more people joined in. At one point, the scale tipped, and the number of people buying was
high enough to push the price point past the price where Melvin Capital had sold the share, forcing
them to buy back those shares at an even greater price and pushing the share price even higher. The
unending loop led the price to soar from less than $2 per share to over $120 per share in less than five
months. This is a major win and proof that by using communication methods such as Reddit, Keith Gill
was able to achieve the unthinkable and become an important authoritative figure in the group.
Finally, having authority in WallStreetBet means one needs to become knowledgeable and
embody the goals and hopes of individual traders. Keith Gill earned his authority and the respect of
members within the group by doing just this. He provided hope for retail investors, demonstrating that
they are not just pawns in the hands of corporate players but that they, too, can have an impact on a
national scale. The WallStreetBet community is an excellent example of how shared goals and interests,
combined with effective communication can create a powerful force that can impact the financial world
and create a balance playground for all sides.