Hypothetically, if that were the plan/situation, the manipulator (from your scenario) would not wait until the end of the bull run to use these guys again. He would use them DURING the bull run to hype the run-up instead. The fact that things played out similar to their past predictions, and they've suddenly turned bull as the market turns around would lend even more credibility (if they had acquired any to begin with). In other words, they would always be paid to hype the current trend, not just the bearish ones.