It's not a rumor that they kept changing their terms and conditions, downgrading what they claimed Tether was backed up with. It's also not a rumor anymore that there is currently a $850 million shortfall in Tether's reserves - that is a fact accepted even by Tether themselves.

If these were all rumors being paid for by their competitors, then why would Tether repeatedly refuse to allow an independent audit. They could have settle the entire thing overnight. The reason they didn't is because they never had the funds they claimed to have, which they have finally admitted.