eBay Execs Thought Sending Dead Pigs, Live Spiders To Small News Website Was A Good Idea
from the utterly-batshit dept
Pop quiz: a couple publishes a relatively small news website critical of your massive and hugely profitable corporation.
Do you:
Apparently if you're employed at eBay, the answer is an enthusiastic C. Six (now former) executives and employees of eBay are facing federal charges after they participated in massive, grotesque harassment campaign targeting the publishers of a small news outlet (Ecommercebytes.com, published by David and Ina Steiner) critical of eBay. Said harassment campaign included sending porn to the Steiners' neighbor under their name, and also sending them live spiders, bloody pig masks, cockroaches, and even a dead pig fetus. Why? They were upset by both the newsletter and anonymous commenters:
"Members of the executive leadership team at eBay followed the newsletter’s posts, often taking issue with its content and the anonymous comments underneath the editor’s stories. It is alleged that in August 2019, after the newsletter published an article about litigation involving eBay, two members of eBay’s executive leadership team sent or forwarded text messages suggesting that it was time to “take down” the newsletter’s editor.
In response, Baugh, Harville, Popp, Gilbert, Zea, Stockwell, and others allegedly executed a three-part harassment campaign. Among other things, several of the defendants ordered anonymous and disturbing deliveries to the victims’ home, including a preserved fetal pig, a bloody pig Halloween mask, a funeral wreath, a book on surviving the loss of a spouse, and pornography – the last of these addressed to the newsletter’s publisher but sent to his neighbors’ homes."
These weren't all low level employees, either. They included eBay’s senior manager of global intelligence, a manager of eBay's global intelligence center (GIC), a contractor who worked as an intelligence analyst within the GIC, and a senior manager of special operations for eBay’s global security team --and a former cop. In short, all folks who should have known better. And if you spend some time reading the articles at the newsletter in question, it appears to be just a largely polite trade mag. That it set these executives off to such a degree is just bizarre.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling indicated at a press conference that this appeared to be a "one off," and not part of a broader campaign against those critical of eBay. But he also made it very clear he'd never seen anything quite this grotesque and idiotic:
According to the government complaint (pdf) and press release, the plan was apparently three-phased. First, the executives decided they'd harass the couple, then they'd step in and approach the victims pretending to fix the problem they created. All in a bizarre effort to try and glean some good press for eBay in a newsletter that (no offense to the Steiners) isn't even that big:
"As part of the second phase of the campaign, some of the defendants allegedly sent private Twitter messages and public tweets criticizing the newsletter’s content and threatening to visit the victims in Natick. The documents allege that Baugh, Gilbert, Popp and another eBay security employee planned these messages to become increasingly disturbing, culminating with “doxing” the victims (i.e., publishing their home address). It is alleged that the very same group intended then to have Gilbert, a former Santa Clara police captain, approach the victims with an offer to help stop the harassment that the defendants were secretly causing, in an effort to promote good will towards eBay, generate more favorable coverage in the newsletter, and identify the individuals behind the anonymous comments."
But wait, it gets crazier. After engaging in grotesque harassment, then pretending to help in the belief it would net eBay some good press, the folks involved in the effort decided to engage in surveillance of the couple, at times justified by falsely claiming they had threatened eBay executives. At least some of these efforts may have had the blessing of former eBay CEO Devin Wenig (who urged executives to "take her down," according to the complaint). Those involved even crafted fake documents to help them lie about the effort should they get questioned by the police:
"The third phase of the campaign allegedly involved covertly surveilling the victims in their home and community. According to the complaint, Harville and Zea registered for a software development conference to explain their trip to Boston on Aug. 15, 2019. Baugh, Harville, and Zea (and later Popp) allegedly drove to the victims’ home in Natick several times, with Harville and Baugh intending at one point to break into the victims’ garage and install a GPS tracking device on their car. As protection in the event they were stopped by local police, Baugh and Harville allegedly carried false documents purporting to show that they were investigating the victims as “Persons of Interest” who had threatened eBay executives."
Those involved then lied to law enforcement and eBay lawyers about what they'd been up to. While Lelling's office indicates this was a one off and an eBay statement downplays the scandal, it takes a very specific corporate culture to generate executives who thought this was in any way a good idea, and who were able to engage in this behavior without running into any company or institutional guard rails whatsoever (until after the fact). Meanwhile the Steiner's newsletter will ultimately wind up getting more attention than ever. Bang up job all around.
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Filed Under: criticism, david steiner, doj, harassment, ina steiner, intimidation, newsletter, stalking
Companies: ebay
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In addition to employing this group of apparent psychiatric ward escapees, it seems eBay is trying to emulate the NYPD.
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Re:
What is the difference between the two again?
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They really paint a great example for those that think the private sector can do better than the governments when it comes to holding back on the pettyness. Apparently no the can't.
That they sent a book on losing a wife and a funeral wreath constitutes a clear death threat.
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Sounds about right, if you're a gang of angry teens...
" Said harassment campaign included sending porn to the Steiners' neighbor under their name, and also sending them live spiders, bloody pig masks, cockroaches, and even a dead pig fetus."
I honestly didn't think anyone could beat Trump for the title of Entitled Man-Child but unless that man decides to order about a thousand pizzas in Pelosi's name he's just been left behind when it comes to being juvenile.
...and on top of that, this was just stage one of their Cunning Plan? Who came up with it? Doctor Horrible? 🤨
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Re: Sounds about right, if you're a gang of angry teens...
Pity they weren't Blackadder fans then …
'I’m I jumping the gun, <insert name here>, or are the words “I have a cunning plan” marching with ill-deserved confidence in the direction of this conversation?'
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Re: Sounds about right, if you're a gang of angry teens...
Trump is way ahead of you. Of course so as to not be outsmarted by anyone he simply send hamburgers instead of pizzas... and to top it all off, to himself. That'll teach her!
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Re: Re: Sounds about right, if you're a gang of angry teens...
...well, consider me clutching my pearls and going "Oh, lawdy"* already.
This is getting ridiculous. Is there anything you can toss in as "this is dumb enough even Trump won't do it" which he has, in fact, not already done? 😟
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Situation Normal All Fouled Up
Think about what these people did in their day job? What kind of 'intelligence' did they conjure up. Were they as 'creative' in the 'intelligence' reports they submitted? Were they as ham fisted in their daily activities as corporate intelligence gatherers? Did no one else at eBay ever consider that their might be something about this group that needed looking in to? Or, like with the government, did the office of eBay global intelligence operate with a strict need to know policy, and nobody outside of the office had a need to know? Not even their boss.
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Re: Situation Normal All Fouled Up
I don't think "intelligence" means what they thought it did...?
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The harassment would've happened quicker
but the seller of the live spiders, bloody pig masks, cockroaches, and pig fetus didn't disclose that they were actually being shipped from China.
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This is unfathomably dumb
Even if this wasn't a criminal act how did the meeting where they decided to send a pig fetus play out. Like at what point did no one say that hey this seems like a dumb idea that has almost no positive outcome.
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Re: This is unfathomably dumb
"We need to get on top of this bad publicity - Can you do something? Use your own judgement about the details - I trust you"
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Re: This is unfathomably dumb
"Like at what point did no one say that hey this seems like a dumb idea that has almost no positive outcome."
Every now and then you do read about something too dumb, malicious, or both, for words, committed not by the inbred hillbilly or uneducated trailer trash man-shaped garbage but by highly educated management which just makes you wonder to which extent you can, today, compare US private corporate management to the inbred european nobility of two centuries ago...
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Retail Sales Numbers!
Hey did you guys see those retail sales numbers? The Trump Economy is Coming Back!
And you leftie idiots advocate for burning Wendy's can go roast marshmallows while the rest of us Celebrate the Trump Economy!
Money! MAGA! Money! MAGA!
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How's that John Steele defense fund coming along bro?
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Ah you see, it may look like crime, like bullying and harassment, but they're wealthy and work in Silicon valley types so they're merely disrupting the rules of civil society as they're working on their app, Harassr, it's going to be the next big thing. They've already burned through $100 million of VC money without making a cent, and they value the company at $9 billion.
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Re: Ebay execs wonderful decision making
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Power corrupts.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Bottom line: They thought they could get away with it.
We'll see what the jury has to say.
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I turn 62 in August (ok Boomer!) so I've lived through the turmoil of the 60's.
2020 is the most f'd up year of my life.
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All in a bizarre effort to try and glean some good press for eBay in a newsletter that (no offense to the Steiners) isn't even that big:
Do you want Max Streisand?
Because this is how you get Max Streisand.
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'Our reputation is sinking.' 'Fetch the C4!'
Well, that's one way to 'fix' your reputation, distract people from relatively tame criticisms by giving them something much more memorable and horrible to focus on.
Truly a masterpiece of PR, I hadn't thought of the company in years and now any time I do think of them thought will be inextricably linked to such charming terms as 'repulsive', 'horrible', and 'grossly dishonest'.
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Re: 'Our reputation is sinking.' 'Fetch the C4!'
Wait, when did this conversation start being about Hillary??
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I vote for the STEINERsand effect
As opposed to bringing unwanted attention to yourself by screaming "Hey you. Yes you over there walking away with your back turned towards me. Stop looking at me", this effect brings a net positive attention to someone else through your own actions.
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were any of these "executives
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any of these "executives" thinking of a career as comedy writers
This sounds so bizarre that it could be a plot of arrested development or something.
Who the fuck are these asshats?
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Re: any of these "executives" thinking of a career as comedy wri
"Who the fuck are these asshats?"
The best and brightest that the shareholders of large US corporations can bring to run their companies, apparently.
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