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A ‘Grass-Roots’ Campaign to Take Down Amazon Is Funded By Its Biggest Rivals

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41–50 of 182 posts

Re: A ‘Grass-Roots’ Campaign to Take Down Amazon Is Funded By Its Biggest Rivals

#41

It’s funny because the whole “Amazon ambassador” thing is just Amazon doing the same thing in reverse. What I hate most about the 21st century is how almost nothing feels genuine anymore. The news, any sort of campaign, even “science” in a lot of cases are just people using money to tell us what to think. Maybe it’s been like this for decades and we’re just now waking up to it, but regardless it just makes it all fee…

In my opinion, this is a good kind of hate, and any genuine activity of the type you're talking about has grown from it, not just in the last few decades but for millenia. Groups pressure us to feel comfortable with their version of reality and use that comfort as a means of control. The natural inclination might be to find other people offering different ideas that feel more genuine, and genuine connections certainly do have value, but if those people try to make you comfortable with their own version of things in the same way, they're probably not much different than the people that left you dissatisfied in the first place.

Re: A ‘Grass-Roots’ Campaign to Take Down Amazon Is Funded By Its Biggest Rivals

#42

I'm skeptical of the substance of this article because WSJ and Amazon share an owner. I typically like the WSJ's reporting, but this honestly feels like a topic they should be recusing themselves from.

Do you mean WaPo? Bezos owns the Washington Post but WSJ is owned by Murdoch via NewsCorp[1] unless I’m mistaken.

[1] - https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/112615/wall-street-...

Re: A ‘Grass-Roots’ Campaign to Take Down Amazon Is Funded By Its Biggest Rivals

#43
post #3

Poor, Poor Amazon. Amazon is run by the richest person in the entire world who will come to the oligarch's aid? Amazon paid NO income taxes last year. I am against Amazon for that reason alone.

Don't be angry at Amazon (and the others) - campaign to change the law. Fixating on massive corporations not paying tax is actually making the problem worse, because it takes attention away from the only thing that can fix the problem which is changing the law . Anything less is just asking companies to hurt themselves for no reason. Just like how most people would pay lower taxes if it was legal, the same goes for c…

Being angry with those who exploit weak law is part of the process of campaigning to change the law.

Re: A ‘Grass-Roots’ Campaign to Take Down Amazon Is Funded By Its Biggest Rivals

#44

I'm surprised more cyberpunk authors didn't anticipate that wars between corporations wouldn't be fought using hackers or "street samurai", but with teams of propagandists competing to do a better job of bullshitting the general public. Yes, I'm calling marketers and advertisers propagandists. As far as I'm concerned, marketing and advertising are nothing but private-sector psyops.

As a recovering marketer I take no offense to that statement. I started my exit from the field when I was working with a PR firm that was running a "behavior modification" campaign. Psyops presumably has regulations and oversight; marketing has nothing of the sort. Want to convince a billion people to drink an addictive chemical known to cause colon cancer? Classic.

Was that a hypothetical..? If not, are you at liberty to share which chemical?

Re: A ‘Grass-Roots’ Campaign to Take Down Amazon Is Funded By Its Biggest Rivals

#45

I'm skeptical of the substance of this article because WSJ and Amazon share an owner. I typically like the WSJ's reporting, but this honestly feels like a topic they should be recusing themselves from.

WSJ is owned by Dow Jones & Company / News Corporation

I think you're confusing WSJ and The Washington Post. The later is owned by Jeff Bezos.

Re: A ‘Grass-Roots’ Campaign to Take Down Amazon Is Funded By Its Biggest Rivals

#46

I think the takeaway is companies should compete on ethics but be transparent about it. If corporations openly call out each other's malignant actions that's a huge win for us all in holding them to a higher standard. I don't believe the "poor Amazon" angle for a moment though. A lot of the "campaign" against Amazon takes place in EU courtrooms where no rival company is focusing our attention on their transgressions.…

A lot of the "campaign" against Amazon takes place in EU courtrooms where no rival company is focusing our attention on their transgressions. It seems unlikely that competitors have no influence on what the EU chooses to pursue in courts.

Being from EU with decent contact to EU parliament... EU officials really don’t need much encouragement. The passion to regulate everything burns deeply.

Re: A ‘Grass-Roots’ Campaign to Take Down Amazon Is Funded By Its Biggest Rivals

#47
post #21

Most of the grassroot campaigns, if not all, are organized and financed by individuals and companies for their benefit or for political benefit. In the olden days, loyalty would organize a distant revolt so the king would be forced to march to a distant land. In the meantime, benefits will accumulate, either by making king poorer, distracting him, or by coup d'etat. Same thing here. I don't believe for a moment that…

Most are spontaneous started out with ideals and outrage but those die unless they meet money..

So the campaigns are real but the scale is faked.

Re: A ‘Grass-Roots’ Campaign to Take Down Amazon Is Funded By Its Biggest Rivals

#48

I'm surprised more cyberpunk authors didn't anticipate that wars between corporations wouldn't be fought using hackers or "street samurai", but with teams of propagandists competing to do a better job of bullshitting the general public. Yes, I'm calling marketers and advertisers propagandists. As far as I'm concerned, marketing and advertising are nothing but private-sector psyops.

As a recovering marketer I take no offense to that statement. I started my exit from the field when I was working with a PR firm that was running a "behavior modification" campaign. Psyops presumably has regulations and oversight; marketing has nothing of the sort. Want to convince a billion people to drink an addictive chemical known to cause colon cancer? Classic.

Are you referring to alcohol or something else?

Re: A ‘Grass-Roots’ Campaign to Take Down Amazon Is Funded By Its Biggest Rivals

#49
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a recovering marketer I take no offense to that statement. I started my exit from the field when I was working with a PR firm that was running a "behavior modification" campaign. Psyops presumably has regulations and oversight; marketing has nothing of the sort. Want to convince a billion people to drink an addictive chemical known to cause colon cancer? Classic.

Was that a hypothetical..? If not, are you at liberty to share which chemical?

I'm thinking high-fructose corn syrup or brominated vegetable oil.

Re: A ‘Grass-Roots’ Campaign to Take Down Amazon Is Funded By Its Biggest Rivals

#50

I'm surprised more cyberpunk authors didn't anticipate that wars between corporations wouldn't be fought using hackers or "street samurai", but with teams of propagandists competing to do a better job of bullshitting the general public. Yes, I'm calling marketers and advertisers propagandists. As far as I'm concerned, marketing and advertising are nothing but private-sector psyops.

This world truly is a boring dystopia.
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