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WhiteHat Jr’s founder files $2.6M defamation suit against critic

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Re: WhiteHat Jr’s founder files $2.6M defamation suit against critic

#101

Post by blueblisters »

Looks like they made the classic Streisand effect mistake - attempts to clamp down on critical voices brought more attention to them. For a startup that ramped up and exited so quickly, they don't seem particularly smart.

Notwithstanding the marketing, I don't think the product itself is egregious. Their primary sell is teaching logic ("coding") to kids through 1:1 tutoring sessions. Many Indian upper/middle class households already send their kids to in-person tutors at a very young age, and looks like Whitehat Jr found a niche that could cater to that market during the pandemic.

1:1 tutoring can be highly effective, creating a 2-sigma improvement in student performance (http://web.mit.edu/5.95/readings/bloom-two-sigma.pdf). Of course, Whitehat Jr likely doesn't follow specific structured pedagogy to get this advantage, and maybe the target age group is too young to get any benefits.

Re: WhiteHat Jr’s founder files $2.6M defamation suit against critic

#102

Post by helmholtz »

pulkitsh1234 wrote: post #59

I have had my personal stint with trying to "expose" an Indian startup (I am an Indian), also coding related which gained some traction on LinkedIn (around 500+ reactions, if they mean anything). This guy is in serious danger, trust me. I had to delete my linkedin post when my ex-manager called me to delete it otherwise the startup's employees will go crazy and try every which way to make my life hell. Unfortunately,…

I'm an Indian abroad.

Do it.

Come here to Europe.

The baseline level of self-awareness in people here is off the scale when you compare it to the typical Indian. People actually queue, instead of creating a melee at every counter. You're never worrying about people cutting you in lines. Cars stop at zebra crossings to let pedestrians cross. No one honks! They nod and smile "bonjour!" as they cross you on the street. There is no pollution here. The food is great, the coffee is even better, the $5 wine at your local grocery store is some of the best in the world. The employees you'll work with have some basic dignity and shame. If they don't know something, they'll admit it. They won't grossly lie on their resumes. You'll never hear the words "do the needful" or "prepone" or, my most hated "kindly revert back"! There is a basic amount of honesty here. You don't spend all your time worrying if the guy you're doing business with is fleecing you. You will find information about businesses online.

This place is as close to paradise as it gets on planet Earth.

Life, and especially youth, passes by in an instance. I highly advocate keeping this fact in mind in the face of do-gooders who judge you for your choices. The million small and large quality of life improvements lead to exactly that. A vastly higher quality of life.

Re: WhiteHat Jr’s founder files $2.6M defamation suit against critic

#103

Post by villgax »

chrismorgan wrote: post #79

Current title on HN: Indian Startup WhiteHatJr files suit against reviewer exposing fake ads Title on article: WhiteHat Jr and the curious case of disappearing dissent Actual subject matter: an entity abusing YouTube’s copyright systems to suppress negative comments on their advertisements (giving examples of one case of fun mockery and one finding inconsistencies in allegations made by the ads), and YouTube handling…

Dang has mentioned at the bottom regarding the change in title & original URL which was the reviewers tweet sharing case doc.

u/dang

Url changed from https://nextbigwhat.com/whitehatjr-files-20-cr-defamation-ca..., which points to this.

Re: WhiteHat Jr’s founder files $2.6M defamation suit against critic

#104

Post by [deleted] »

helmholtz wrote: post #102
pulkitsh1234 wrote: post #59

I have had my personal stint with trying to "expose" an Indian startup (I am an Indian), also coding related which gained some traction on LinkedIn (around 500+ reactions, if they mean anything). This guy is in serious danger, trust me. I had to delete my linkedin post when my ex-manager called me to delete it otherwise the startup's employees will go crazy and try every which way to make my life hell. Unfortunately,…

I'm an Indian abroad. Do it. Come here to Europe. The baseline level of self-awareness in people here is off the scale when you compare it to the typical Indian. People actually queue, instead of creating a melee at every counter. You're never worrying about people cutting you in lines. Cars stop at zebra crossings to let pedestrians cross. No one honks! They nod and smile "bonjour!" as they cross you on the street.…

[deleted]

Re: WhiteHat Jr’s founder files $2.6M defamation suit against critic

#105

Post by sn41 »

higerordermap wrote: post #97
tempstar wrote: post #7

They are the biggest scam in India capitalizing on FOMO of Indian parents. They charge heaftily (more than $2000) to teach app development (using Scratch, Firebase etc.). Their staff is poorly paid and just reads off scripts. Their staff doesn't know even the basics of CS (as evidenced in this video: https://youtu.be/1Y21eSn_zSM?t=64 , when the student asks how files are stored in Cloud Storage, she says the files ar…

Yeah I am from India. I think we could have guessed this is the ultimate stage of IIT JEE rat race that's getting more and more aggressive over some years. While I don't subscribe to all ideologies of socialism, I can only think of free high-quality education by government as a solution to this aggressive game-the-system and FOMO mentality so deep rooted here. For context I studied in Rural Governement schools till 1…

A lot of the stress associated with IIT JEE stems from aggressive fear based propaganda by coaching classes. Things were much more laid back in the 90s, pre-Kota mania. Fear sells. They make it sound as though if you are not in an IIT, your life will be a flaming wreck.

This is far from the case, even if you confine yourself to the tech sector.

Re: WhiteHat Jr’s founder files $2.6M defamation suit against critic

#106

Post by soumyadeb »

Founders, hiring managers in this group can play a big role in stopping this fraud. Maybe we should publicly call out WhieHat Jr in our job postings? A single statement like "A degree from WhiteJat Jr. won't impact your chances of getting hired" can go a long way.

Re: WhiteHat Jr’s founder files $2.6M defamation suit against critic

#107

Post by wyldfire »

sn41 wrote: post #95
chrismorgan wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> she says the files are stored in real clouds I have fond memories of a visit to a children’s hostel in Hyderabad, India in 2006, and a rote answer they were taught in their textbooks: “Why is a computer called a number cruncher?” “A computer is called a number cruncher because it crunches numbers with its teeth.” Dad took the children to the office where there was a computer and showed them that it had no teeth. I’…

There are well designed, carefully planned and high quality textbooks by NCERT, which is part of the school board. But many students and parents don't prefer them. There is a proliferation of 'cut-to-the-chase' guidebooks (similar to Cliffnotes but much much worse) that they use to cram before the exam. What you describe is very likely one of these.

Why would they include content that is so obviously false in a guidebook? Certainly the book's author didn't believe it to be the case.

Re: WhiteHat Jr’s founder files $2.6M defamation suit against critic

#108

Post by shi314 »

kkarakk wrote: post #77
shi314 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know a 12yo Indian kid who is maintaining Ubuntu Unity. Though, I am pretty sure he didn't study at WhiteHatJr.

unless you're posting names/social media handles i'm guessing you're a whitehat jr employee. i pre-emptively apologise, don't sue me.

You could check out at Ubuntu discourse. His username is rs2009.

project website: www.ubuntuunity.org

I, by no means support such sleazy company.

Re: WhiteHat Jr’s founder files $2.6M defamation suit against critic

#109

Post by villgax »

soumyadeb wrote: post #106

Founders, hiring managers in this group can play a big role in stopping this fraud. Maybe we should publicly call out WhieHat Jr in our job postings? A single statement like "A degree from WhiteJat Jr. won't impact your chances of getting hired" can go a long way.

Yep, simple steps like this would ensure children & parents don't buy into this false sense of securing someone's future with some random course.
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