Bruce Yes they DO contradict each other. In my view, the WSJ published the two "contradictory" references you cited - ON PURPOSE. Like any well-written and "impartial" news story - it lays out divergent "facts" - without bias. (Bias in news writing is more obvious today when a reporter starts a sentence with the word, "But...." without using quotes - inserting the reporter's perception / interpretation of contradictions immediately thereafter.)
Instead, in this story, the reader reads the those two references and gets to decide how he or she feels about ex-eBay CEO Devin Wenig's role in this federal investigation. Thus, speaking for MYSELF - Devin Wenig is a liar who should have been indicted. To me, it does not matter that Wenig claims his texts broadly refer to the policy of responding to eBay's critics in a benign way. He was still the highest ranking officer who directly approved this strategy - and at the very least, indirectly approved - (with or without specific knowledge of live cockroaches, adult DVDs and the like) - the intimidation and harassment actions against the Steiners. His lieutenants acknowledged in their messages that their campaign against the Steiners was supported by Wenig. The WSJ has a good track record of "takedowns" which eventually lead to top officers facing jail, e.g., former Theranos chief Elizabeth Holmes, who bilked billions on an invention that didn't work, i.e., a single blood test that was marketed as diagnosing many diseases from a single draw. David ________________________________ From: Bruce Hershenson <brucehershen...@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2020 4:15 AM To: David Kusumoto <davidmkusum...@hotmail.com> Cc: MoPo-L <MoPo-L@listserv.american.edu> Subject: Re: [MOPO] WSJ FRONT PAGE - NEWLY UPDATED STORY - "CRUSH THIS LADY" - INSIDE eBay's BIZARRE CAMPAIGN AGAINST A BLOG CRITIC. David Two quotes from the article: " Mr. Wenig, who left the company last fall, said in an interview he didn’t order any type of harassment of the Steiners, nor was he aware of the security team’s efforts. " " A text exchange cited in the affidavit indicates that after being alerted to the stories by Mr. Wymer, Mr. Wenig texted him: “If you are ever going to take her down, now is the time.” Don't the above two quotes directly contradict each other? Am I missing something? Bruce On Thu, Jun 25, 2020 at 5:06 AM David Kusumoto <davidmkusum...@hotmail.com<mailto:davidmkusum...@hotmail.com>> wrote: The WSJ has posted a second front page story this morning (Thursday, June 25, 2020) - a follow-up to its original story about federal cyberstalking charges against eBay. Five (5) reporters have now been assigned to the story. Pretty sure the WSJ is rightly taking this personal. Copy and pasted text below. ============================== PAGE ONE - WALL STREET JOURNAL Thursday, June 25, 2020 https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/3954/JBNOqS.jpg<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.com%2Fimg923%2F3954%2FJBNOqS.jpg&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727611603&sdata=U4nW2ATXFZo%2BTE9AnBOzWkp2j9QRYGNIyIQB%2Fb9Gl3g%3D&reserved=0> [https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/3954/JBNOqS.jpg] --------- "CRUSH THIS LADY." INSIDE eBay's BIZARRE CAMPAIGN AGAINST A BLOG CRITIC. Security employees allegedly orchestrated deliveries of live cockroaches, pornographic videos and a mask of a bloody pig’s head By Kirsten Grind and Sebastian Herrera Originally posted on June 24, 2020 10:34 am ET —Elisa Cho, Cara Lombardo and Jim Oberman contributed to this article. ---------------- The box of live cockroaches delivered to their door was the last straw for David and Ina Steiner. For more than two decades, the professional collectors ran a niche e-commerce blog out of their home in the Boston suburbs, with a focus on Amazon.com Inc. and eBay Inc. ----------- Then, last August, the couple started receiving threatening emails and tweets. Not long after, according to federal investigators, a package arrived with a mask of a bloody pig’s head. Next, they received a funeral wreath. Neighbors were sent pornographic videos addressed to one of the Steiners. Strange cars seemed to follow them around their small town of Natick, Mass. They repeatedly called the local police, who say they initially thought the incidents might be pranks. The Steiners photographed one of the suspicious vehicles tailing them. With the photo, the local police tracked the license plate to a rental car checked out to a Veronica Zea, staying at Boston’s Ritz-Carlton hotel along with a man named David Harville, according to an affidavit from a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent working the case. ----------- Then the police discovered something really curious: Both Ms. Zea and Mr. Harville worked for eBay, the $34 billion online marketplace based more than 3,000 miles away in San Jose, Calif. The once dominant site was a frequent target of the Steiners’ blog posts on their site, called ECommerceBytes. ----------- That discovery kicked off a criminal investigation into an alleged corporate harassment campaign that reached into eBay’s executive ranks. The campaign was as bold as it was bizarre, beginning with pranks inspired by the 1988 movie “Johnny Be Good” and escalating to more sinister threats and stalking, according to the affidavit. ----------- On June 15, the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Massachusetts said it charged six former eBay executives and employees, all part of its security team, with taking part in a weekslong harassment campaign that included threatening emails and tweets, fake Craigslist posts and the mysterious deliveries. Now the U.S. attorney’s office is investigating whether eBay targeted any other critics with harassment campaigns, according to a person familiar with the investigation. ----------- This account of what happened is based on more than two dozen interviews with current and former eBay executives and people familiar with the company, government and police officials and documents released by the U.S. attorney’s office, including the affidavit from FBI agent Mark Wilson. ----------- The alleged cyberstalking campaign was launched soon after Devin Wenig, eBay’s chief executive at the time, and his chief communications officer, Steve Wymer, embarked on a more aggressive public-relations strategy that included challenging critics such as ECommerceBytes, people familiar with the matter say. As part of that strategy, eBay executives tried to prove their suspicion that its rival Amazon.com Inc. was helping to fund ECommerceBytes, two of these people said. They ultimately didn’t find any evidence of that. An Amazon spokesman said the company has never funded the site. ----------- Mr. Wenig’s wife, Cindy Wenig, had complained to eBay’s security team about the tone of ECommerceBytes’ reader comments about her husband, particularly after an unknown man had shown up at their house. Mr. Wenig, who left the company last fall, said in an interview he didn’t order any type of harassment of the Steiners, nor was he aware of the security team’s efforts. Mr. Wenig said he was in a monthlong sabbatical in Italy when the alleged activity took place last August and didn’t find out the details until they were made public on June 15. “It’s totally embarrassing, and it’s just ridiculous,” he said. “It’s so not the culture of the company.” Mr. Wymer, his former communications chief, said, “I would never condone or participate in any such activity.” ----------- The woman said to have rented the car, Ms. Zea, an eBay contractor who worked as an intelligence analyst, declined to comment. Mr. Harville, eBay’s former director of global resiliency, didn’t respond to requests for comment. They were two of the six charged with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses. ----------- When Mr. Wenig took over eBay in 2015, the company had been struggling to compete with a surging Amazon in the marketplace business. He was intent on restoring it to its glory days as a tech darling. He sometimes wore a black T-shirt with a white pirate emblem, given to him by employees, to encourage disruptive thinking. He redesigned eBay’s logo and poured millions of dollars into renovating its San Jose headquarters. ----------- Yet even as he sought to aggressively recast eBay as a Silicon Valley underdog, he often reacted forcefully to what he perceived as negative coverage of the company. Former employees say he could be set off by even the smallest of slights, including reader comments on blog posts, YouTube videos and media reports about his compensation. Some of his concerns about critical coverage or comments were voiced in text messages he exchanged with Mr. Wymer. ----------- After a May 31, 2019, post on the Steiners’ site analyzed Mr. Wenig’s remarks at a shareholder meeting, according to the affidavit, the CEO texted Mr. Wymer. “I couldn’t care less what she says,” he said, referring to Ms. Steiner. “Take her down.” Mr. Wenig said he was referring to the aggressive media campaign. ----------- EBay has at other times pressured detractors to remove negative content. In late 2018, eBay executives pushed longtime seller Casey Parris to remove what the company perceived to be a negative YouTube video about the company, saying the company “didn’t like the tone” and threatened a lawsuit if it wasn’t removed, Mr. Parris said. When he asked his contact at eBay how the company would have even seen his video, Mr. Parris said, he was told that its security team was watching all the time. He said he recently told eBay about the incident and the company said it would investigate. “I’m still scared by it,” he said. Another seller, Danni Ackerman, said eBay stopped inviting her to events after she started a YouTube channel that criticized policy changes that affected sellers, as part of what she called the company’s “bully culture.” ----------- A spokeswoman for eBay said the company “has always sought out candid and constructive feedback from all of our stakeholders, in particular our seller community. We deeply value this input.” In a blog post addressed to sellers last week, Jordan Sweetnam, head of eBay’s marketplace business in the U.S., Canada and Latin America, said the alleged acts by eBay security officials “were isolated incidents and not a systemic issue.” EBay held a private Zoom call Thursday for its sellers, assuring them that all the bad apples at the company were gone, and that eBay was looking into individual claims, according to a person familiar with the call. ----------- ECommerceBytes was founded in 1999 after Mr. Steiner, 61 years old, an auction enthusiast and video producer, had difficulty placing a listing of video equipment on eBay. Figuring other sellers might also be having similar trouble, the Steiners launched the site — then called AuctionBytes.com — to help others navigate the online commerce world. Ms. Steiner, 58, a longtime writer and editor, writes most of the website’s content. Both of the Steiners are collectors, browsing garage sales in their free time. ----------- “Here was a new market that no one was writing about, so they began to cover the market in an agnostic way,” said Gary Sohmers, an early eBay seller and longtime appraiser who knows the Steiners. The Steiners didn’t respond to requests for comment. ----------- Though obscure, the site built a significant following among eBay sellers, with several thousand subscriptions by 2019. The reader comments on the posts were at times snarky and personal. Some taunted eBay executives, including then-CEO Meg Whitman and John Donahoe, now CEO of Nike Inc. A comment from 2017 called Mr. Wenig the devil, according to the affidavit. ----------- Mr. Wenig, a New York transplant who once ran the financial and media businesses at Thomson Reuters Markets LLC, became CEO after eBay spun off payments giant PayPal Holdings Inc. in 2015. In January 2019, hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. disclosed a more than 4% stake in eBay and said the company should consider selling its StubHub ticketing business and classifieds-ads unit and focus on repairing its core marketplace. By early that year, Mr. Wenig and his public-relations team had decided to alter the company’s public-relations strategy. Rather than responding to interview requests or sending out news releases, they planned to take a more aggressive approach with publications that wrote negative stories about eBay, according to people familiar with the decision. In a recent interview, Mr. Wenig said he didn’t spend any more or less time than the average CEO thinking about media coverage. “I think all CEOs care about the coverage of their company,” he said. ----------- In April 2019, Ms. Steiner wrote a short article about Mr. Wenig’s compensation, based on a public Securities and Exchange Commission filing, titled “eBay CEO Devin Wenig Earns 152 Times That of Employees.” A commenter posted: “What a foolish Board. What an overpaid empty suit. What a joke.” According to the affidavit, Mr. Wymer, then eBay’s communications chief, texted Mr. Wenig that they would “crush this lady.” ----------- The Wall Street Journal wrote a 164-word article about Mr. Wenig’s $18.2 million compensation around the same time, with the headline “EBay Chief Executive Wenig Got Raise in 2018.” “F— them,” Mr. Wenig texted Mr. Wymer, according to the affidavit. “The journal is next on the list” after Ms. Steiner. After brainstorming ways to go after the Journal, eBay employees ultimately abandoned the effort, according to people familiar with the plans. ----------- EBay executives decided to examine Amazon’s relationship with ECommerceBytes, hoping to be able to point out to a reporter or publish a blog post on its website arguing that it was improper for a publication to accept money from an e-commerce giant it was writing about, according to people familiar with those plans. EBay also is suing three Amazon employees who it claims worked to illegally recruit its third-party sellers. ----------- By the summer of 2019, James Baugh, then eBay’s director of safety and security, was laying the groundwork for an alleged campaign to silence the Steiners, according to the affidavit. Mr. Baugh, a native of Arkansas and longtime security executive, joined the company in 2016. At one meeting, the affidavit said, Mr. Baugh showed his team a clip from the 1988 film comedy “Johnny Be Good,” in which two friends arrange for a series of odd, unwanted deliveries to their football coach. Mr. Baugh allegedly said he wanted something similar to happen to the Steiners. ----------- Mr. Wenig’s wife had texted Mr. Baugh in July about a reader comment that called Mr. Wenig a “con artist and thief,” under an ECommerceBytes article. “The author gets people worked up with the way she skews her stories,” Ms. Wenig wrote, according to the affidavit. A spokeswoman said Ms. Wenig was concerned about the safety of her family after one commenter threatened a “crash landing” for Mr. Wenig shortly before the family was planning to fly to Italy. ----------- ECommerceBytes published several more negative stories about eBay around the time of its annual seller conference in Las Vegas in July 2019. A text exchange cited in the affidavit indicates that after being alerted to the stories by Mr. Wymer, Mr. Wenig texted him: “If you are ever going to take her down, now is the time.” “On it,” Mr. Wymer responded. He texted Mr. Baugh the message from Mr. Wenig, adding, “She is biased troll who needs to get BURNED DOWN.” “Copy that,” Mr. Baugh said. “I have a plan B. I will put it in motion.” In meetings with his analysts and other members of eBay’s security team, Mr. Baugh warned that the campaign had to be kept confidential, but told them he had support of executive management. ----------- According to the affidavit, the planned campaign against the Steiners was supposed to have two parts. After the initial harassment, eBay would begin a “white-knight strategy” of offering to help the victims end the mysterious communications and deliveries, the affidavit said. Local police stepped in before that happened. Mr. Baugh, who also was charged by the U.S. attorney’s office, didn’t respond to requests for comment, nor did his lawyer. ----------- In Natick, Ms. Steiner began getting dozens of emails and newsletters she hadn’t signed up for with subjects like “Cat Faeries,” and “the Satanic Temple.” An anonymous Twitter user sent her private messages, demanding her response and then threatening “I guess im goin to have to get ur attention another way bitch…” On Craigslist, a post popped up with the Steiners’ address, and a title “M/F couple seeking activity partner.” https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/4769/QYUhIq.jpg<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.com%2Fimg924%2F4769%2FQYUhIq.jpg&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727621598&sdata=UFOS1eT%2B9oa5djtBX3mQXh9NcYyCZMFJ%2FOn%2BRtfTlPI%3D&reserved=0> [https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/4769/QYUhIq.jpg] Another post announced “BLOCK PARTY in Natick - Let’s have some fun!”, again with the couple’s address, and inviting people to stop by “anytime of day or night.” ----------- Once the police connected the activity to eBay, the executives involved allegedly tried to cover their tracks. Mr. Baugh sent a message from his personal cellphone to Mr. Wymer, saying he and members of his team were cooperating, that they had done nothing illegal, and asking “if there is any way to get some top cover that would be great.” Mr. Baugh directed his team members to delete their WhatsApp and phone data, according to the affidavit. ----------- The eBay board’s audit committee learned of the investigation in late August, and the broader board was briefed the following month during a five-hour call led by lawyers at Morgan Lewis & Bockius, according to people familiar with the matter. The board was told the investigation found no evidence that Mr. Wenig was aware of the actions, these people said. ----------- The company placed Messrs. Baugh and Harville and another member of the security team on administrative leave on Aug. 30. The company later fired all six who were charged, and Mr. Wymer. ----------- When Mr. Wenig was pushed out as CEO in late September, the directors said the main reasons were the company’s financial performance and his disagreement with a large investor about the best path forward for the company, according to people familiar with the matter. The investigation also played a role, and directors blamed him for setting a cutthroat tone at the top. Mr. Wenig received a $57 million exit package. ----------- On the day the U.S. attorney’s office announced its charges, Ms. Steiner posted a press release to ECommerceBytes, with no further comment. (END) ________________________________ From: MoPo List <mopo-l@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU<mailto:mopo-l@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>> on behalf of David Kusumoto <davidmkusum...@hotmail.com<mailto:davidmkusum...@hotmail.com>> Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2020 1:12 PM To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU<mailto:MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU> <MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU<mailto:MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>> Subject: Re - (FULL TEXT WSJ FRONT PAGE) - JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CHARGES FORMER eBay STAFF WITH 'CYBERSTALKING CAMPAIGN' Sorry for not responding to requests until hours later. This story may have since been updated - but the WSJ gave it the biggest play this morning - because it was also threatened by eBay. Because it and the NY Times - gave it big play - copycat news organizations have since followed, piggy-backing on the WSJ's original research and delving into the complaint itself. Note that in all news accounts, eBay responds by distancing itself - saying that all defendants no longer work for eBay. It's obvious that it knew about the federal investigations well before yesterday's announcement by the DOJ - and was bracing for the worst while launching a damage control strategy in its prepared statements to news organizations. Nevertheless, here is the longer WSJ story as it appeared on this morning's front page. The WSJ has always had a paywall for its exclusively researched content. The shorter NY Times version should be accessible to all in private mode. ================= ================= ================= PAGE ONE - WALL STREET JOURNAL JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CHARGES FORMER eBay STAFF WITH 'CYBERSTALKING CAMPAIGN' Cockroaches, a bloody-pig mask: six former workers at eBay are alleged to have stalked a newsletter editor. By Sebastian Herrera for the Wall Street Journal Tuesday, June 16, 2020 ------ The U.S. Department of Justice has charged six former workers at eBay Inc. with leading a cyberstalking campaign against a Massachusetts couple who publish an e-commerce blog, EcommerceBytes, that criticized the company. The department on Monday said the attacks included sending the couple threatening Twitter messages and packages that contained live cockroaches, a funeral wreath and a bloody-pig mask. The department also alleges that the defendants, whose responsibilities included security and global intelligence, conducted covert surveillance of the Natick, Mass., couple. ------ The alleged actions by the employees, whom eBay fired in September after an investigation, followed criticism of EcommerceBytes by top executives that included Devin Wenig, the company's chief executive at the time, according to the complaint, which doesn't identify Mr. Wenig by name. "We are going to crush this lady," an unnamed eBay executive texted on April 10, 2019, to another unnamed eBay executive, identified as "Executive 1" in the complaint. The text included a link to an EcommerceBytes blog post about "Executive 1's compensation," the complaint says. The blog post is titled "eBay CEO Devin Wenig Earns 152 Times That of Employees," indicating that Mr. Wenig is Executive 1 in the complaint. That person hasn't been charged. ------ Later, after an unspecified EcommerceBytes post on May 31, Mr. Wenig texted: "Take her down." At another point, he also used an expletive to refer to The Wall Street Journal's coverage of the company. "The journal is next on the list," he said in the text, according to the complaint. It couldn't be determined if the Journal or any of its reporters was targeted. ------ Early in 2019, EBay was locked in a battle with activist investors Elliott Management Corp. and Starboard Value LP, which were pushing for board seats and a deal that it was believed could lead to a company breakup. EBay has since sold off the ticketing site StubHub and is considering a sale of its classifieds unit to assuage Elliott and Starboard. "It goes pretty far up the chain at eBay," U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said Monday at a news conference. He noted that the Justice Department investigation continues. ------ Ina Steiner, the editor of EcommerceBytes and the author of the posts, as well as her husband David Steiner, didn't respond to requests for comment Monday. EBay on Monday said it was notified by law enforcement in August of suspicious activity by the company's security personnel directed at the newsletter editor and her husband, who serves as publisher. The online marketplace said it immediately launched an investigation and in September fired all those staff involved in the campaign. The company said its investigation included examining whether then-CEO Wenig might have played a role in the harassment of the editor and publisher. The company said that while it found that some of Mr. Wenig's communications at the time "were inappropriate," it found no evidence that he knew in advance or authorized any actions against the couple. Mr. Wenig resigned in September over what he said were disagreements with eBay's board, including clashes over the sale of assets. In a statement Monday, Mr. Wenig said he didn't direct or know anything about the alleged acts involving the former eBay employees. "What these charges allege is unconscionable," he said. "EBay does not tolerate this kind of behavior," a special committee formed by eBay's board of directors said Monday. "EBay holds its employees to high standards of conduct and ethics and will continue to take appropriate action to ensure these standards are followed." ------ Those charged included James Baugh, who was senior director of safety and security at eBay, David Harville, formerly director of global resiliency, and Brian Gilbert, a manager in the company's global security team. The other defendants are Stephanie Popp, Stephanie Stockwell and contractor Veronica Zea, all of whom worked in eBay's global intelligence operations. Mr. Baugh and Mr. Harville were arrested Monday on charges of conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witness, each of which carry a potential sentence of up to five years in prison. Mr. Gilbert, Ms. Popp, Ms. Stockwell and Ms. Zea also face the same charges and are scheduled to appear in federal court, the department said. The defendants couldn't be reached for comment. ------ The alleged cyberstalking began after the newsletter wrote about litigation involving the online marketplace, according to the complaint. Members of eBay's executive team followed the newsletter's posts and often took issues with its content, according to the Justice Department. ------ The former employees allegedly carried out the harassment campaign in three parts. They sent items including a preserved fetal pig, a bloody-pig Halloween mask and a book on surviving the loss of a spouse, the department said. Some of the former employees also sent private messages over Twitter, as well as public tweets, criticizing the newsletter, according to the department. In a third phase, the former employees spied on the couple at their home and community, the department said. ------ On Aug. 15, Mr. Baugh, Mr. Harville and Ms. Zea allegedly drove to the couple's home with the intent of breaking into their garage and installing a GPS tracking device on their car. In the event that they were stopped by police, Mr. Baugh and Mr. Harville carried false documents purporting to show they were investigating the couple in connection with threats to eBay executives, the department said. The couple, however, detected the covert attempt and notified police, who began an investigation. The former employees attempted to interfere with evidence and lied to the police about eBay's involvement, the department said. ------ The charges Monday cap off a turbulent period for eBay. Mr. Wenig's departure in September was part of an exodus of eBay executives and managers last year. The former CEO said at the time that he had disagreements with eBay's board, which was deliberating selling assets of the company after pressure from activist investors Elliott Management Corp. and Starboard Value LP. EBay, which in April named Walmart Inc. executive Jamie Iannone as its new CEO, has considered selling its classified-advertising business, which could be worth $10 billion, The Wall Street Journal has reported. In February, eBay closed the sale of its StubHub ticket-sales unit in a $4.05 billion deal with Viagogo Entertainment Inc. ------ EcommerceBytes writes extensively about eBay. The site published short posts about several of the executives who recently departed and also critical takes on actions at the company. In one post dealing with an eBay lawsuit against Amazon filed last year, Ms. Steiner wrote that Mr. Wenig, the former eBay CEO, "demonstrated a lack of appreciation" for third-party sellers who want to sell on various tech platforms. In another post in May 2019, the site reported that eBay had built on its campus an expensive replica of a popular Manhattan bar. The article noted that Mr. Wenig was a New York City transplant. "EBay is charging sellers more and offering less (see its 2019 first-quarter financials)" Ms. Steiner wrote. "They might be wondering what took investors so long to speak up on how the company's management and board of directors are using the revenue generated by sellers' fees. Stiff drink, anyone?" Comments on articles about eBay at times were critical of the company and its executives. ________________________________ From: MoPo List <mopo-l@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU<mailto:mopo-l@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>> on behalf of David Kusumoto <davidmkusum...@hotmail.com<mailto:davidmkusum...@hotmail.com>> Sent: Monday, June 15, 2020 11:36 PM To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU<mailto:MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU> <MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU<mailto:MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>> Subject: Re: Former eBay employees allegedly used cockroaches, spiders, and a gruesome mask to harass a couple The story is on the FRONT PAGE of tomorrow's WSJ - and - on page 1 of Section B in tomorrow's New York Times. In the WSJ story, Ina and David are named: "Ina Steiner, the editor of EcommerceBytes and the author of the posts, as well as her husband David Steiner, didn’t respond to requests for comment Monday." The WSJ reports that eBay CEO Devin Wenig texted (about the Ina Steiner) - "Take her down." At another point, Wenig used an expletive to refer to the Wall Street Journal’s coverage of eBay, adding, "The journal is next on the list." * The attached picture is an example of what was sent to Ina and David's home, i.e., a bloodied pig's head mask - and a book entitled, "Surviving the Loss of a Spouse." https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/9108/gS8Ps8.jpg<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.com%2Fimg923%2F9108%2FgS8Ps8.jpg&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727631593&sdata=p%2Byea1RPwXHfT5Bw3f34RZzfmh2eORH%2FQ82fUb%2BJXlQ%3D&reserved=0> [https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/9108/gS8Ps8.jpg] If you hit a paywall, let me know and I - (or anyone else who has access) - will post the full text later. -------------------------- Tuesday, June 16, 2020 PAGE ONE - Front Page, A1 - Wall Street Journal JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CHARGES FORMER eBay STAFF WITH 'CYBERSTALKING CAMPAIGN' https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-charges-former-ebay-employees-with-cyberstalking-campaign-11592241507<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fjustice-department-charges-former-ebay-employees-with-cyberstalking-campaign-11592241507&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727641589&sdata=sl%2BHH4WgxkvQDzZlCSyg7Oi5XcVi5q3FLW0Jq35caRs%3D&reserved=0> [https://images.wsj.net/im-198541/social]<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fjustice-department-charges-former-ebay-employees-with-cyberstalking-campaign-11592241507&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727651583&sdata=HGKIt2XzvH8VaPw%2F7Gzt0JYTSmcaTLD7VxV1DcD0OJo%3D&reserved=0> Justice Department Charges Former eBay Staff With ‘Cyberstalking Campaign’ - WSJ<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fjustice-department-charges-former-ebay-employees-with-cyberstalking-campaign-11592241507&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727661582&sdata=zUcN0n5p1p4%2ByIHYfIAdhqclkcHDPuGM4ecTeqDzCW4%3D&reserved=0> The U.S. Department of Justice has charged six former workers at eBay Inc. with leading a cyberstalking campaign against a Massachusetts couple who publish an e-commerce blog, EcommerceBytes, that ... www.wsj.com<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727671573&sdata=hXHKPJTn2Bj%2FvW0GaxkUycU9JXEYu%2FaxBZQZIvcVUTs%3D&reserved=0> --------------------------- Tuesday, June 16, 2020 Section B, Page 1 NY Times U.S. SAYS LIVE ROACHES WERE SENT TO eBay CRITICS. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/technology/ebay-cyberstalking-with-cockroaches-and-bloody-pig-face.html<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2020%2F06%2F15%2Ftechnology%2Febay-cyberstalking-with-cockroaches-and-bloody-pig-face.html&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727681571&sdata=ZhkEM7qrvEjQ7ACGFHIXJ8cwWR48LJ08nZw%2FEb%2BAtHE%3D&reserved=0> [https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/06/15/business/15ebay-stalking1/15ebay-stalking1-facebookJumbo.jpg]<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2020%2F06%2F15%2Ftechnology%2Febay-cyberstalking-with-cockroaches-and-bloody-pig-face.html&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727691565&sdata=glg4IXXP8LuOJ2gIiXUufqAyJOnyOseRGCxA1s44XNI%3D&reserved=0> Ex-eBay Workers Sent Critics Live Roaches and a Mask of a Bloody Pig Face, U.S. Says - The New York Times<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2020%2F06%2F15%2Ftechnology%2Febay-cyberstalking-with-cockroaches-and-bloody-pig-face.html&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727701559&sdata=fz3P5PUSpc1hDhTgk2MDo5bVX5lR8%2F1OPSB5rRbhqcI%3D&reserved=0> Six former employees of the site sent threatening messages and deliveries to a couple after the e-commerce newsletter they published wrote about a lawsuit involving eBay. Joseph R. Bonavolonta ... www.nytimes.com<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727711555&sdata=UYtQDVxmjUp%2BkcYOfusUas3tgPdV2FMIaqBNMTsraRs%3D&reserved=0> ========================================== On 2020-06-15 21:25, Bruce Hershenson wrote: UNBELIEVABLE! 21 years ago, when I moved my auction business entirely online, I met a couple, Ina and David Steiner, who had just started a site devoted to online auctions called https://www.ecommercebytes.com/<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecommercebytes.com%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727721552&sdata=EbqlgjBCiR2PzuWnWFTPxcUX4%2Bd%2B3YgMfFX187n9BmM%3D&reserved=0> I found (and have continued to find over the years since) that their site was one of the only online sites to provide the "straight dope" about online selling. Naturally this included much negative information about eBay, as the auction site did all they could to keep raising fees on their sellers, while adding insane regulations to being a seller. I left Bay in 2007 after 330,000 auctions there, and ecommercebytes covered my departure honestly and fairly. NOW, this has happened, and it is something NO ONE could possibly have expected from ANY company. The couple referred to in the article below (although they are unnamed) ARE Ina and David Steiner, and I guarantee reading this will turn your stomach. :( https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/15/tech/ebay-cyberstalking/index.html<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2020%2F06%2F15%2Ftech%2Febay-cyberstalking%2Findex.html&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727731546&sdata=cveTdouPTkQ2eSOVcf0HG1L%2BKhZqCdHW9aCdgYB5HpQ%3D&reserved=0> [https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/200615133710-ebay-restricted-super-tease.jpg]<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2020%2F06%2F15%2Ftech%2Febay-cyberstalking%2Findex.html&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727741543&sdata=BRJXFFdQDel%2BA8uZubFvt3g4O2jepimrxIofk6beiXU%3D&reserved=0> eBay: Former employees allegedly used cockroaches, spiders, and a gruesome mask to harass a couple - CNN<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2020%2F06%2F15%2Ftech%2Febay-cyberstalking%2Findex.html&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727751535&sdata=c9KAjWVy51%2FXce56JhVRDEHOg7%2FykauORUwq3CUUQEs%3D&reserved=0> Six former eBay employees face charges for cyberstalking and tampering with evidence after, according to federal prosecutors, they harassed a Boston-area couple who ran a news site that was at ... www.cnn.com<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727761510&sdata=RH8v0cVncgzjsllH%2BSDdwrdKN1bY%2B%2FncAQVsriEBmzw%3D&reserved=0> ________________________________ To unsubscribe from the MoPo-L list, click the following link: https://listserv.american.edu/scripts/wa-american.exe?SUBED1=MoPo-L&A=1<https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flistserv.american.edu%2Fscripts%2Fwa-american.exe%3FSUBED1%3DMoPo-L%26A%3D1&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd39ffdc056084f4e292408d818f92a8f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637286805727771502&sdata=xax8pbO%2BplxXnA0bCqk9N2vhlvJ28Yyz1%2FQ%2FXlGewvM%3D&reserved=0> -- Bruce Hershenson and the other 29 members of the eMoviePoster.com team P.O. 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[http://www.emovieposter.com/images/announcements/bruce01.jpg] Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
