Hedge funds scramble for PR charm offensive after Reddit debacle shows how much America hates them

2021 has been a disastrous year for some high-profile hedge funds that have seen their short sales squeezed by angry Redditors who have cost them billions of dollars.

According to CNBC's Eamon Javers, many hedge funds are not only surprised by the ferocity of the Reddit rebellion, but also by the low esteem in which the average American holds their industry.

"I'm told the hedge fund industry feels it needs to push back on the massive criticism it's gotten in the wake of GameStop," Javers writes on Twitter. "Says one source familiar: 'A significant amount of time and attention will be spent working to explain the industry's story a little more cogently.'"

As for what this public relations charm offensive might look like, Javers's sources say they expect the industry to offer "examples of ways hedge funds have benefited communities and emphasis on vast array of hedge fund investment strategies -- if there's one you don't like, there's probably another you do."

If the replies to Javers's tweets are any indication, however, it looks like hedge funds will have their work cut out for them on educating the public on the social utility of shorting the shares of a video game retailer.

"I'm sure how they destroyed the news business in this country will be a prime example of their influence?" wrote one user in reply.

"Is there one that has a strategy of not ripping me off with absurd fees?" wrote another. "Is there one that has a strategy such that when it goes up 50 pct and then down 50 pct the manager doesn't make a fortune."