how did a collection of unrelated people drive the price up?
How...?
They just bought a lot of GME. You know, the traditional way you raise a stock's price.
It really is just that simple. That is what is brilliant about this. It doesn't take an exotic strategy.
You just need to buy it.
The reason this has never really happened before was because retail investors could never coordinate with each other to have enough buying power to drive the price up and bury the short-sellers.
But then came along Wall Street Bets, a popular subreddit describing itself as, "4chan found a Bloomberg Terminal."
Now the retail buyers can coordinate with each other. And they're on a search-and-destroy mission.
I love it!