If it's sincerely a new phenomenon perhaps you're right, but cynically this looks a lot like pump and dump and frankly that's been around forever.

What's new here is that the sales pitch about shorts needing to be covered has more truth to it (I think, not an expert) than the usual vague promises about a huge turnaround being right around the corner. Usually the argument that other buyers will follow you is based purely on their supposed FOMO

Impossible pump and dump bubbles are a very old and well-trafficked phenomenon. This particular case is a bit interesting, because it appears that the pumping may be a fully distributed phenomenon - but even then, it shouldn't surprise anyone if news eventually breaks that there was some organized group behind it.

Exactly! It's coordination on a scale never seen. But yes, traditional P+D been around forever.

It's not pump and dump, though, it's a short squeeze. It's happened before, many times, with the most famous prior case being VW (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_squeeze#Examples_of_shor...)