Yes short sales activity does appear poorly understood by...

Yes short sales activity does appear poorly understood by many... and as a consequence often blamed when share prices do not conform to holders beliefs ...

There is a bit of info on short sales and how it is reported at https://bizpep.com/shortsales/#help

Basically there are 2 sets of data reported, ASX Daily Gross Short Sales (reported the next day) and ASIC Aggregate Short Sales (delayed 4 trading days)...

Gross Short Sales is an indicator of daily short sales activity which is often sell / buy in the same day.

Aggregate Short Sales is the short positions remaining open at close each day (ie still need to be covered).

Both reports provide some insight but for different time frames (short or longer).. The sales transactions themselves are reported as normal and can be seen in real time like all other buy/sell transactions.

Shorting activity is generally well informed and used to leverage sentiment. It provides both liquidity and opportunity for all. You do not need to short to benefit from others selling short but you do need to accept volatility and consider that in most cases there is a valid underlying reason for the short selling activity.