system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What exactly is insider trading and why is it illegal?

From what I understand it's being tipped off on the stocks. Why is it bad to get rid of stocks if you know a company is not doing well? I feel like I would want to know if it was my money.
gpt
Well, first off, insider trading isn't just getting rid of stocks you don't have faith in. There's nothing wrong with dropping Samsung shares in the face of this whole Note 7 exploding thing going on. The difference is whether or not the information you use to make that decision is public knowledge.

Insider trading is basically 'cheating'. Think of it like a game of poker where your buddy is working with you by giving signals about his cards. He tells you through eye twitches or coughing whether he has a good hand or not, and with that information you can know when to fold or when to make a large bid. You have information that the other players don't have, which makes it an unfair situation for them.

Insider trading is the same way. If you happened to be the sole person in the world outside of Apple Inc. that knew that Apple was about to announce a new type of phone capable of transforming into a jetpack and doing all your chores for you, you'd know that the announcement would cause their stock value to skyrocket. So you spend your life savings on tons of Apple shares at their current price, the announcement is made, the shares' value skyrockets and you sell them back for a fortune. You're now rich as heck because you had an advantage over everyone else in the 'game'. THAT'S insider trading.