On March 20, 2024, the United States District Court in the Southern District of Texas, in a head-scratching ruling, dismissed charges against social media influencers for promoting a stock they owned to increase the price before selling. The rationale for the dismissal is that the influencers did not sell the stock directly to the plaintiffs in the case. The influencers and the plaintiffs both did their buying and selling on public stock exchanges and through market makers - not directly with each other. The takeaway for ordinary investors is to be wary of what you read on Reddit, X, Facebook, and other social media promoting the next great investment. The courts no longer offer any deterrence to 'bad actors' who knowingly promote stocks solely for their own benefit.