THE WallStreetBets subreddit has helped to drive $ 383, 000 in donations to a gorilla conservation organization this week. The previous sentence would have been hardly intelligible, even just last december, and yet here we are.
To quickly recap: In January, people at the subreddit r / WallStreetBets captured the headlines for buying shares in GameStop, as well as other frequently commented firms, such as AMC Theaters. Several hedge funds had sold GameStop, betting on their share price diving, which would allow them, perversely, to earn money. The wave of Redditors buying Gamestop and others who wanted to enter the investment frenzy caused stock prices to skyrocket, however, disrupting the hedge funds that shorted the company, while allowing Redditors and individual investors to become very rich. (Some every day people were also left very screwed.)
The folks at WallStreetBets have long referred to themselves as “monkeys” – it’s kind of inside joke based on Harambe’s memeification, the gorilla who was shot dead in 2016 at the Cincinnati Zoo after a child fell in his enclosure. Always with whom to commit a little, they have made donations to save other monkeys.
Many have made donations to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, an international charity dedicated to financing conservation, protection, and study of gorillas in Africa. The organization generally receives 20 donations on a normal weekend of people who wish to adopt gorillas symbolically, but since last Saturday, said is received thousands of donations for adoption, totaling more than $ 383,000. Many of the adoptions were made using false names to cast shadow on hedge fund managers: wire in the subreddit called “This MFer is probably richer than me now” shows certificates made for “Jim Cramer Tears ”and“ Fuck Melvin Capital ”. Yes, this is not the systemic change we need to save endangered species, but it’s kind of tight considering gorillas are in decline due to habitat degradation by industry, poaching, industry, and of Climate Change.
That was a big deal for the charity that its president and CEO, Tara Stoinski (more like Stonksy, am I right?) recorded a video message specifically for Redditors. The group also posted them on their website by adding the hashtag #ApesTogetherStrong and creating a limited edition merchandise line presenting it over the symbols of the diamond hands. The slogan is restrained from one meme based on the film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but members of WallStreetBets use it to describe their collective action to deceive wealthy investors.
G / O Media can receive a commission
The WallStreetBets Redditors has made donations to other animal conservation organizations as well. The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust saw a $ 10,000 peak at the donations last week, including the adoption of an orphaned elephant in Kenya. Members also sent money to the Orangutan Project and other charities.
“I fucking love this community”, a WallStreetBets of the user wrote. “I mean, honestly, can you imagine that somewhere on Wall Street or in Chicago they still have a little piece of a post-it dedicated to something more than just their own fucking money?”