[HNthrow22]

This story is so wild, imagine being this couple and trying to tell the police ebay execs are harassing me because I wrote mean things about them on the internet. This is a widespread thing that's going on in our culture right now, organized bullying and targetted harassment by those in power and it's having devastating consequences on the public discourse. This case is unique because the overconfidence and carelessness of the execs led to them being caught but in most cases people aren't reckless enough to leave easily tracked evidence of their misdeeds.

I can think of multiple examples of agriculture/pharma companies and game publishers engaging in this type of retaliatory harassment, most cases they're not careless enough to get caught.

[catalogia]

It makes me wonder how often things like this might be happening in cases that typically get written off as somebody having paranoid persecution delusions about being "gangstalked." If this couple had told me their story, I have little doubt that I wouldn't have believed them.

[claudeganon]

Happens all the time, it’s just that the bad actors are usually more competent and better at distancing themselves than the people at eBay.

A good example is what Chevron is doing right now to Steven Donziger, an attorney who won a settlement against them for their polluting in Ecuador:

https://theintercept.com/2020/01/29/chevron-ecuador-lawsuit-...

Also Weinstein’s use of Black Cube:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/30/harvey-weinstei...

[ideals]

This happens even by the police. The NYPD harassed the man who filmed Eric Garner being choked to death in 2014.

> Orta has filed one lawsuit and plans to file another, alleging that the NYPD has arrested him several times in retaliation for filming the Garner video. Another lawsuit claims that Rikers Island guards put rat poison in Orta’s food.

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_57f5019ae4b04c71d6f12ba4

[clairity]

> "...in our culture right now..."

no, this has happened throughout time and everywhere, and will, far into the future. it's not just right now, or unique to the web. being perceived a threat (like writing mean things) typically elicits a negative response. it's literally how escalation happens.

that shouldn't be surprising. but what's unacceptable is the unethical, criminal, and grossly disproportionate response.

[A4ET8a8uTh0]

I am in agreement with you as a general principle. In this particular case though, one of the ideas that executive came up with were straight of a spy fiction 'Body of lies'. I guess what I am saying is we should not dismiss cultural impact.

[gentleman11]

> This is a widespread thing that's going on in our culture right now

Is it? I never see stories about it. Can you elaborate?