My naive impression is that "shorts" and MMs get blamed for price declines because they are convenient scapegoat targets that are not available to refute the point.
So much simpler to blame some nebulous "them", than look at the real problems of a company.
While "bashers" are actual people doing DD and posting the not-so-good parts of penny-stock world....
"It is easier to fool someone, than to convince them they have been fooled."
For those that don't get it, it means that people need to be more careful, and do good due diligence.