The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, June 4, edition that you might think short sellers are facing extinction given the concerns raised over Monday's conviction of short seller Andrew Left for securities fraud. The Globe's guest columnist Chris Gay writes that many worry that this verdict will deter the use of short selling. Federal authorities charged Mr. Left in 2024 with manipulating stock prices and misleading investors with fraudulent commentary about his positions, among them Nvidia and Tesla, raking in at least $20-million in the process. Mr. Left had pleaded not guilty. Suggesting after the verdict that he would appeal, Mr. Left cast the trial as an issue of speech rights, saying he was convicted for "telling the truth and making a profit. ... What this does for future of free speech is chilling. Can individual investors not talk SpaceX?" This needs some parsing. Mr. Left was not convicted for speaking his mind, but for defrauding investors. Intentions matter in such cases, and the government's evidence regarding his intentions proved compelling to the jury. Evidence showed that Mr. Left repeatedly issued authoritative social-media posts about companies and then profited from quick, prearranged trades.