Incredible article on @eBay harassment of critics.

For every one of these harassment campaigns that gets caught, I've thought about the many that get swept under rugs or scrubbed from corporate files.https://t.co/N4b0EgCSDA

CC: @stevewymer @devinwenig@fidomaster1

— Roddy Boyd (@RodBoydILM) September 26, 2020

Still thinking about what eBay executives did to people whom they thought made eBay look bad. Who damaged the company more?

Also, eBay wouldn’t even go so far as to issue a statement for this piece saying all this wasn’t acceptable. https://t.co/z7NwtJIan8

— Harry McCracken (@harrymccracken) September 26, 2020

Amazing yarn about eBay’s demented “security” team from @DavidStreitfeld https://t.co/MOpg4riVJi pic.twitter.com/NqanG50Rhr

— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) September 27, 2020

‘According to the government, their methods were juvenile and grotesque, featuring cockroaches, pornography, barely veiled threats of violence and death, physical surveillance and the weaponization of late-night pizza.’ https://t.co/4726laE1yT

— Bruno J. Navarro (@Bruno_J_Navarro) September 27, 2020

Absolutely wild must-read on how Ebay's security team (under the direction of an exec) harassed and doxxed a blogger — and how they tried to cover it up when the FBI got onto them. https://t.co/hUqyyaz8tb pic.twitter.com/svsE2ZqkuF

— Jane Bradley (@jane__bradley) September 27, 2020

"The scheme was both completely malevolent & remarkably inept. It stands as a warning about how easily tech cos can feel aggrieved & the mayhem that can ensue when they do & how the internet makes people crazy often without them realising it"

Good grief!https://t.co/3pvqcvp9oe

— TheSignOfFive (@TheSignOfFive) September 27, 2020

This is wiiild. Someone please turn this into a dark comedy. https://t.co/p7wY9W8DxF

— Chris Leader (@ChrisLiter) September 27, 2020

This @ebay story has been reported before, notably by the @wsj but this piece is a great example of first not necessarily being best. The details make the difference. And oh, what details. https://t.co/lrY8usD3ig

— MichelleRafter (@MichelleRafter) September 26, 2020

Read this to the end not because it outlines an absolutely wild amount of tech power/panic but because you will lose your shit at the kicker that says where the CEO and CCO wound up: https://t.co/AuW0HAOoce

— Rose Eveleth ▷▷ (@roseveleth) September 26, 2020

“It seemed like a cult.” Here's @DavidStreitfeld with the crazy, jaw-dropping story of an out-of-control corporate security team with questionable taste in movies... Inside eBay’s Cockroach Cult: The Ghastly Story of a Stalking Scandal https://t.co/VIhMtyEUhn

— Jim Kerstetter (@jimkerstetter) September 26, 2020

Frankly I would not be surprised if more companies weren't doing stuff like this, slightly less amateurishly. Yes this is bizarro but also describes the way tech companies see themselves as infallible and work to crush any critique. https://t.co/AuW0HAOoce

— Rose Eveleth ▷▷ (@roseveleth) September 26, 2020

Superb reporting by the @nytimes on eBay's beyond-the-pale harassment of critics. But the feds never prosecuted the execs, just the underlings. THAT is at least a much a scandal. https://t.co/IoSdha0KdV

— Dan Gillmor (@dangillmor) September 27, 2020

how did i not know that ebay was targeting citizen critics and stalking and harassing them? this is bonkers! it's so coen bros-esque silly yet also terrifying that this can sanctioned by a silicon valley powerhouse. https://t.co/pxZkCcajkm

— ???? ???????? (@carybrothers) September 26, 2020

"The scheme [...] was both completely malevolent and remarkably inept — full of daft assumptions [...] about a plot that did not exist. It stands as a warning about how easily tech companies can feel aggrieved, and the mayhem that can ensue when they do." https://t.co/Qi6ZupQrK4

— Peter Bonilla (@pebonilla) September 26, 2020

“I want to see ashes... As long as it takes. Whatever it takes.” I hope @DavidStreitfeld has already locked down the movie rights for this bizarre story of eBay's revenge squad. https://t.co/8GZuhTAXLP

— John Schwartz (@jswatz) September 26, 2020

Must-read @nytimes piece by @DavidStreitfeld on @ebay's toxic leadership culture in which then-CEO @devinwenig oversaw insane levels of victimisation of mom-and-pop critics. Like, being sent live cockroaches and stalked. How can he still be on @GM's board? https://t.co/NtBnBK5cM1

— David Rowan (@iRowan) September 26, 2020

Looking for a rabbit hole?https://t.co/HYgjJwHwlV

— Greg (@ochimusha108) September 27, 2020

Seems I need to start a newsletter to get the real good swag. Right, @ebay? https://t.co/tHtETxgQo0

— e-sushi ? painting it red this week (@originalesushi) September 27, 2020

What an amazing story of, among other things, local cops running circles around Silicon Valley goons https://t.co/0AyBbLSt8P

— Ben Smith (@benyt) September 26, 2020

The only possible conclusion from another bonkers tale of eBay executives harassing a blogging couple is...just...WHY?

eBay had thousands more important priorities than obsessing about a rando on Twitter and a couple who wrote a small website. https://t.co/5SfN1FqN9m pic.twitter.com/vxOY34yGuj

— Shira Ovide (@ShiraOvide) September 26, 2020

This *is* as wild as described https://t.co/JP0yu0bGE8

— MyCool King (@iPullRank) September 27, 2020

The chair of the board said the nonprofit was “aware” of what happened at eBay, but believes Mr. Wymer is “a leader with integrity” and was the unanimous choice for the job. #ESG https://t.co/4726laE1yT pic.twitter.com/1MteonUhUL

— Bruno J. Navarro (@Bruno_J_Navarro) September 27, 2020

It is *still* mind-blowing to me that people from @eBay attacked Ina from @AuctionBytes. We used to read that all the time, back in the day.

Feel so badly for the people hurt here. Just shameful. https://t.co/1CJMAxQIf8

— Adam Nash (@adamnash) September 26, 2020

At the core of this objectively insane behavior is intense narcissism, the idea that what you do is so important and disruptive that it could be the object of a sinister conspiracy that you then must crush https://t.co/oAnwU5DXev

— Matthew Zeitlin (@MattZeitlin) September 26, 2020

Ebay's former CEO, Devin Wenig, instructed his underlings to "take down" a company critic. The underlings are now facing federal criminal charges. Wenig got a $57 million severance package and sits on the board of @GM. https://t.co/vh5gWylCUG

— Christopher Ingraham (@_cingraham) September 26, 2020

So much happening in this stunning account by @DavidStreitfeld of eBay's heinous harassment campaign against the founders of @EcommerceBytes, I'm not sure where to start. https://t.co/mM9hR5xRMV

— Owen Thomas (@owenthomas) September 26, 2020

Could not put this one down.

Wonderfully-told story of the insane campaign of harassment waged by tech executives at eBay, and reflective of the thin-skinned attitude I’ve seen across Silicon Valley to even the mildest of critics. https://t.co/NAc1CS1Cat

— Sheera Frenkel (@sheeraf) September 26, 2020

In addition to great investigative reporting, this is a chilling reminder of how malevolent people can be--and how social media, sadly, can amplify that malice. The take-away: in business, politics, etc., even when passionate, be humane, polite, kind. https://t.co/HpStEnaOpo

— barrymosk (@barrymosk) September 26, 2020

Mary Barra, GM’s chief executive, called the cyberstalking scandal “regrettable” but noted “it didn’t involve any GM business.” #ESG $GM https://t.co/4726laE1yT pic.twitter.com/ojx43Pnx38

— Bruno J. Navarro (@Bruno_J_Navarro) September 27, 2020

The eBay tale “stands as a warning about how easily tech companies can feel aggrieved, and the mayhem that can ensue when they do. And it vividly shows how the internet makes people crazy, often without them ever realizing it.” https://t.co/g3BiPMPq2e

— erin griffith (@eringriffith) September 27, 2020

This story is bonkers. One of the week's best reads. https://t.co/nowie15kvL

— Cliff Levy (@cliffordlevy) September 27, 2020

This story is nuts. Senior eBay execs used clips from the (generally mediocre) Hollywood dude movies to brainwash the lower-level security employees into becoming criminals—and got away with it. Get you BA in the humanities to see thru this crap. https://t.co/XL8dfB78TG

— Yuliya Komska (@ykomska) September 26, 2020

What. A. Story!
Apparently eBay's ex-CEO and comms head got annoyed with a blogger couple. And the company's "security" team went bonkers trying to make life hell for the couple. Wild doesn't even begin to describe it! A must read!https://t.co/wIRiUSbj4A

— Subrahmanyam KVJ (@SuB8u) September 27, 2020

Astounding story with much more detail about a scandal that makes HP’s pretexting of reporters look like tiddlywinks. https://t.co/z7NwtJIan8

— Harry McCracken (@harrymccracken) September 26, 2020

Men with giant fragile egos & unresolved daddy issues let their paranoia & insecurity push them to act macho & "tough," thereby utterly fucking up a situation where simple empathy & diplomacy would have worked. Story of America? Yes. Also, eBay. https://t.co/REUAGC2Yxl

— David Roberts (@drvox) September 27, 2020

자사인 이베이를 비평한 두명의 블로거에게 CEO의 지시에 따라 수년간 스토킹을 하며 온라인 협박 메시지 보내고, 바퀴벌레를 배송하는가 하면 피자를 배달시키는 등으로 괴롭혔다고...
정작 CEO와 최고 운영자는 이베이 나가고 나서도 잘먹고 잘살고 있다고... https://t.co/yAu8W6fOn7

— Be ok (@allemeinebier) September 27, 2020

Amazing yarn about eBay’s demented “security” team from @DavidStreitfeld https://t.co/MOpg4riVJi pic.twitter.com/NqanG50Rhr

— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) September 27, 2020

https://t.co/D1FfWtthbY

Wait was worth it. https://t.co/CXaLd8ajNg

— Byrne Hobart (@ByrneHobart) September 27, 2020

A look into the incredibly bizarre culture at eBay and how it led to a stalking and harassment campaign against online critics. https://t.co/vSpU82Y4xv pic.twitter.com/ARvnI3YyTV

— Kashmir Hill (@kashhill) September 27, 2020

Good grief. This is frightening. I thought the horse head in the bed motif jumped the shark with Godfather 3. Note to self - open an @etsy account & get a PO box. https://t.co/qLFPZ0GlSN

— ian hollander (@ianhollander) September 27, 2020

What. A. Story!
Apparently eBay's ex-CEO and comms head got annoyed with a blogger couple. And the company's "security" team went bonkers trying to make life hell for the couple. Wild doesn't even begin to describe it! A must read!https://t.co/wIRiUSbj4A

— Subrahmanyam KVJ (@SuB8u) September 27, 2020

바퀴벌레, 포르노 및 피 묻은 돼지 가면 : eBay가 블로거를 괴롭히는 방법 https://t.co/ahrksUDC1v

— editoy (@editoy) September 28, 2020

Whether we call it decline of neoliberalism, necrocapitalism, crony or surveillance capitalism with criminal features, thugocracy—it’s not just the Trump admin, but a global culture of greed and cruelty metastasizing in the remains of imperial capitalism.
https://t.co/jUxNaaGsw1

— Lisa Duggan (@TheFunFury) September 27, 2020

Y’all ever notice how white writers get to write about anything and everything?

I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately.

A LOT.

https://t.co/tSYZf45gCY

— Jon Paul, Ed.D. ✊??️‍? (@DoctorJonPaul) September 26, 2020

Inside eBay's cockroach cult: the ghastly story of a stalking scandal https://t.co/aAo5RKbNsz

— sunayna (@spacedout_sniff) September 28, 2020

Wild...
'Their alleged targets were almost comically obscure...their methods were juvenile and grotesque, featuring cockroaches, pornography, barely veiled threats of violence and death, physical surveillance and the weaponization of late-night pizza.'https://t.co/kvYH5rXzlj

— Robert Rand (@MenendezRand) September 28, 2020

The eBay executives who ordered up all this are depraved human garbage--and as @DavidStreitfeld's story reminds us, have dodged meaningful accountability for their conduct, that being something only applicable to the little people. https://t.co/RX2LzsFmm1

— Rob Pegoraro (@robpegoraro) September 27, 2020