Short and distort

"Short and distort" is a type of securities fraud in which Internet investors short sell a stock and then spread negative rumors about the company in an attempt to drive down stock prices.

One way of shorting and distorting involves the sale of a security that is not even owned by the seller, but is either rented or borrowed, with the specific purpose of selling it to another person, then spreading untruthful, negative information to tank its stock price.