Shares of video game retailer GameStop almost doubled in value on Monday after a single post by a social media account named “Roaring Kitty”, in a frenzy that recalled the “meme stock” craze at the start of the decade.
Roaring Kitty is the account on social media platform X of Keith Gill, a day trader whose videos during the meme-stock bubble encouraged millions of others into the market, in turn propelling stocks such as GameStop to dizzying heights.
Gill’s account, inactive since June 2021, came back to life on Sunday when it posted a posted a meme of a man leaning forwards in his chair, an image that GameStop had posted on its own X account in February. The post had been viewed more than 14mn times by midday in New York.