A Very, Very Expensive Emoji
A court in Washington, D.C., has been stuck with a tough, maybe impossible question: What does 🌝 mean? Let me explain: In the summer of 2022, Ryan Cohen, a major investor in Bed Bath & Beyond, responded to a tweet about the beleaguered retailer with this side-eyed-moon emoji. Later that month, Cohen—hailed as a “meme king” for his starring role in the GameStop craze—disclosed that his stake in the company had grown to nearly 12 percent; the stock price subsequently shot up. That week, he sold all of his shares and walked away with a reported $60 million windfall.
Now shareholders are suing him for securities fraud, claiming that Cohen misled investors to get the emoji claim dismissed. That argument was denied, and the court held that “emojis may be actionable.” (Cohen’s lawyers did not respond to my request for comment.)
