CMKM Diamonds Inc (fka CMKX)

[janice shell]

It's urban legend. The term "basher" seems to have come into use around 1998; back then you didn't see it too often, at least at SI. My guess is that it was coined at AOL or Yahoo.

The notion of "paid bashers" didn't come into existence until 1999 or 2000, accompanied by the "Basher's Handbook" and a lot of parody "basher confessions" that many didn't recognize as jokes.

The SEC has sued many many touts and pumpadump practitioners, but has yet to discover a "paid basher". That should tell you something.