It’s déjà vu all over again, Mal. You appear to have rediscovered the wheel. That small-cap share prices are constantly manipulated and have little relevance to the value of an underlying business is hardly a revelation to experienced investors. ASIC appears to just accept 'sneaky tactics' as normal.
This old post from 2014 could be cut-&-pasted into this thread unaltered. Comments about the effects of unsubstantiated allegations and negative commentary on stock forums are as relevant now as then. Spreading doubt can only lower the confidence of weak hands, resulting in more selling and making an unwanted T/O offer more difficult to defend.
CDY Price at posting:
25.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held