https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/hedge-fund-targeted-by-reddi...

"the hedge fund’s manager told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin."

So this is completely based on a phone call and Melvin Capital can just claim that Andrew Sorkin misunderstood them.

There's no public statement from Melvin Capital, which makes me suspect that they were indeed just trying to manipulate public perception, they could have just not talked to journalists about their positions, which is their official policy.