In a democracy that values free speech and the liberty of association, combined with the Internet, it was inevitable, but then the bar for what counts as market manipulation punishable under the law is raised considerably.
I'm not defending either side here, but Reddit has picked a fight that is absolutely tantamount to market manipulation.
It is pretty obvious that lots of people try to post on reddit to make their assets more valuable, but I am pretty sure that many of them are conventional investors. There is no reason for any of the old big players to not post these things on reddit, I don't see how having the power of reddit could trump having the power of reddit + the power of controlling the marketplaces. When unwanted things happens based on reddit manipulation they shut down the market, when things go as they want the market stays open, so it seems like they can't lose under the current rules.
That was the whole idea behind the GameStop thing. They were purposely trying to ensure that a hedge fund wouldn't be able to buy GameStop shares to cover their massively over-shorted position.
Funds that own full percentage points in stocks making pure top-down orchestrated moves vs hobby investors reaching out into the void with their info that may or may not gain traction are simply not in the same league.