The GameStop mania driven by Reddit traders isn’t simple market trolling. It’s a populist movement threatening to disrupt the financial system to a degree Occupy Wall Street only dreamed of.

• The Reddit-fueled trading phenomenon lifting GameStop, AMC, and other stocks is backed by populist sentiments.
• Cries to dethrone the establishment and redistribute wealth resemble those seen at Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011.
• The trend has all but certainly formed a bubble, but its political messaging can still live on.

The spirit of Occupy Wall Street is back. Only this time, it’s coming from inside the stock exchange.

Over the past few weeks, as internet-savvy traders led by the Reddit subgroup Wall Street Bets have furiously driven up the stock price of GameStop, short sellers who were betting against the video game retailer have been hit hard. According to the analytics firm S3 Research, losses on the single stock have totaled more than $19 billion.

Some market commentators argue that the sudden spike in flash rallies, which have spread to a wide range of other securities around the world, is an internet prank gone viral. Others see it as a dubious, get-rich-quick scheme cooked up by more experienced investors in the forum.