Can we really claim that Overstock's dividend directly 'triggered' GameStop's coverage, or is it an irrecoverable cost of the attention we've already given to this analogy?
Let's forget what we've invested in the idea of direct causality here.
GameStop's situation, with its massive coordination of retail investors and extreme short positions, was a unique phenomenon and not just a replication.
Without this coordinated pressure from retail investors, such as that exerted by online forums, a similar dividend would not have caused such pressure on hedge funds.