[weird-eye-issue]

That would be a silly point. Puts don't even show up in the short interest and are a great way to short a stock.

[gruez]

They do, indirectly because market makers hedge the puts they sell by shorting the underlying.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/deltagamma-hedging.asp

[weird-eye-issue]

Not every put seller gamma hedges. And the extent to which they do depends on how ITM the option is.