It absolutely could be because of something like that. Maybe not for that exact reason, but something similar.
The stock was nearly fully capitalized, they had to increase it. Because of the bad reputation that pink sheet stocks have developed right away everyone assumes they are going to dilute the hell out of the stock.
"Sort of" is such a harmless thing to say. "Sort of". It's just a filler. "Sort of" - It doesn't really mean anything. But after certain things, "sort of" means everything. Like after "I love you" or "You're going to live" or "It's a boy".