Ashton Kutcher, best known for lying to people on camera for laughs, has endorsed the idea of going after “shady journalist” Sarah Lacy over her critical coverage of Uber. Without mentioning that he is an investor in Uber.
Months ago there was a series of articles suggesting that whatever bad publicity Uber was getting, it was still publicity. And for Uber there really was no such thing as bad publicity.
I think that has now changed.
As recently as yesterday, I was seeing people either saying they’d deleted their Uber apps or exhorting other people to do so on social media. But then it seemed largely a matter of principle or solidarity with high-profile journalists like Sarah Lacy who’d crossed swords with Uber execs.
Friday is the day for the immigration executive order and President Obama plans to unveil it in Las Vegas.
So believe it or not, Steve King gets a veto on who gets to be the GOP nominee in 2016. Kilgore has the story.
Accuser speechless after CNN host suggests she should have bitten Bill Cosby’s penis to avoid rape.
Gun sales skyrocketing in Ferguson. This should all go splendidly. From the Post …
Ku Klux Klan leaders have handed out fliers in Ferguson that threaten “lethal force” against protesters, businesses have boarded up their storefronts, and local gun retailers say sales have skyrocketed. Law enforcement officials have warned of groups of “outside agitators” who could descend on the city after the announcement and incite violence.
…
“These people are afraid,” said Steve King, the owner of Metro Shooting Supplies in nearby Bridgeton. King says his store typically sells 30 to 40 firearms a week. This week, it has sold 250. “One hundred percent of them are buying because of Ferguson.”
Uber CEO (seemingly in both senses) Travis Kalanick now says his fellow executive’s suggestion that Uber might oppo research and try to smear a critical female journalist was a “terrible” idea. Yes, I would say that is probably right.
Separate from the details of this incident, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen what is by any measure an amazingly successful startup manage to generate this much negative publicity based fairly narrowly on the behavior of its top executives.
Uber’s CEO has (sort of) apologized for his executive’s remarks about smearing a female journalist — but still hasn’t fired the guy.
Journalist Sarah Lacy on the Uber executive’s remarks: “Honestly, every woman using Uber should be scared.”