
Jeff Bezos Accuses National Enquirer of Blackmail - foxh0und
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/07/technology/jeff-bezos-national-enquirer-blackmail.html
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personjerry
This was already posted, original article (by Bezos) discussion here:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19109474](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19109474)

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JimmyAustin
Peter Thiel (worth 2.5b) destroyed Gawker with a contribution of 10m to Hulk
Hogan's legal fund.

If Bezos contributed a similar proportion of his fortune (112b), he would be
contributing 448m. Not only is the National Enquirer about to be in the
shitfight of its life, but every single other lawsuit it's going to be facing
will be armed to the teeth with amazing legal talent.

Couldn't have happened to nicer people.

~~~
throwaway2048
Not sure that billionaires destroying media outlets is something to be cheered
on.

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JimmyAustin
"Billionaries destroying media outlets" is an emergent property from two
facts: \- Some people can't/don't get justice because they can't afford a
lawsuit. \- Rich people can give money to poor people to get them that
justice.

In order for Bezos to destroy them legally, they still need to have messed up
in some way.

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untog
It's all but inevitable that a news publisher will get a story wrong at some
point, that's why corrections get issued. So it's still a lot of power to put
in the hands of the already powerful.

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neveroffensive
There's a difference between a correction to a flawed article and attempted
blackmail though... One is an accident that can occurre in the course of good
journalism, the other is something else entirely.

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untog
Oh sure. I was talking in the context of Thiel and Gawker, not Bezos and the
National Enquirer.

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wutbrodo
Yes, but this isn't an accurate description of gawker's case either. This
wasn't a case of accidentally falling on the wrong side of the legal line and
only realizing when it's too late. They repeatedly ignored direct court
orders, eg to take down the video.

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FreedomToCreate
To modify a quote from The Dark Knight:

"Let me get this straight, you think one of the wealthiest and most powerful
men in the world, who owns the Washington Post and pays out of his own pocket
to send rockets to space, won't stand up for himself so your plan is to
blackmail this person?

Good Luck

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aerovistae
Same thing I was thinking. That said, I _hate_ the National Enquirer and I am
praying this leads to their destruction.

On a tangentially related note I also believe there ought to be laws
restricting paparazzi from harassing people. I think it's awful every time I
see someone trying to walk down the street or out of a hospital or courthouse
and swarmed by cameras that won't leave them alone even in moments of grief.
They're people. I don't understand why it's considered perfectly acceptable to
treat them that way just because they've become well-known.

Just a thought connected to my disdain for tabloids.

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sytelus
You are missing the point. Entities like National Enquirer are not like Gawker
that was bankrupted by Thiel with his wealth might. These entities are funded
by politics aka American GDP aka your tax dollars. As Bezos clearly outlined
in this letter, Trump administration helped these people have very lucrative
deals with Saudies to get their financing, very likely, US government doing
some favors to Saudies in return. Even if Bezos managed to bankrupt them, they
will immediately popup with new name pretty much next day, by same owners and
would run in exact same way doing exact same things. You can't kill it.

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nyolfen
the justice department certainly can in fact kill it

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sytelus
It takes less than an hour of paperwork to spin a new business entity that is
exactly the same as old. Bankruptcy laws limits financial losses for owners.
Entities like AMI are often set up in a way so such financial losses would be
negligible, if any.

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nyolfen
it's pretty difficult when you're in prison

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loeg
Blogspam; primary source is [https://medium.com/@jeffreypbezos/no-thank-you-
mr-pecker-146...](https://medium.com/@jeffreypbezos/no-thank-you-mr-
pecker-146e3922310f) , discussion
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19109474](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19109474)
.

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CydeWeys
A New York Times article is not "blogspam".

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loeg
Usually not, but this one surely is. It's 90% direct quotes and paraphrase
from the primary source, adding nothing of value; and it elides the incredibly
relevant letters exchanged between Bezos et al and AMI.

I think it's a pretty great example of how to blogspam and it's somewhat
tragic that the NYT is resorting to blogspam for clicks.

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chockZ
I'm sorry, but how else would you write about this story? Is the NY Times just
supposed to not cover it? The story is literally the post by Jeff Bezos, which
they link to first in their article.

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ehmish
No, but we should really not have upvoted it quite so highly considering it's
a non-primary source that isn't really adding anything

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labster
Looks like David Pecker just lost his Prime membership. Enjoy a lifetime of 14
day shipping, bro.

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Maxious
Also using AWS for the National Enquirer website including Route 53 for DNS
[https://twitter.com/ryanhuber/status/1093665718464327680](https://twitter.com/ryanhuber/status/1093665718464327680)

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cure
I wonder where they have stored those alleged incriminating photos... An S3
bucket backing some sort of CMS system they use to run that website?

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ggm
I can relate to _a plague on both their houses_ but it is important to worry a
bit about 'law of unintended consequences' effects. Bezos is going to get
something ordinary mortals cannot, (redress) because of his money. So he isn't
a champion for fundamental rights against press abuse, he's a champion for
millionaires rights.

A real win here is for a global press industry to adopt redress measures
ordinary people can use, and for stories to reflect fundamental truths, not
twisted outcomes.

Jeff is still a union-busting, extractive parasite in my personal opinion. He
might have made a worldwide empire which drives the economy, but he also
helped wreck small-town shopping alongside costco and walmart, and their
international cohort of economically efficient traders. Its lovely to be able
to buy anything. Its truly sad to walk past small town life consisting of
boarded up shops.

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lxmorj
I don't buy that "buying your shit at huge markup from a local shop" is some
great boone to a community. It's effectively a tax on everyone in town,
subsidizing the one family that owns the shop. There are plenty of businesses
that are more local-friendly, but household necessities aren't one of them.

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ggm
That tax keeps people in jobs. That tax kept social capital i the town heart.

The bigstore on the edge of town, and mail-order destroys social capital.

I absolutely get the prices were higher. I have lived this experience in
different times, and short of cash I resented paying that markup in the corner
store. But now, older and I think a little wiser I realize that what I did,
was suck energy out of the local community. I miss the corner store, and I
miss fresh bread from a local baker, and I miss the small indie bookshop and
record store.

If the price of these things for a small town is a "tax" then can we be grown
up and discuss the tax? I mean sure, you can drive the utility truck down the
road to the costco, but what kind of a local are you, if the store-owner is on
their hunkers because you stopped shopping? Are you a local at all?

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the_reformation
So you expect all customers to accept higher prices because of the community
aesthetic you personally enjoy more?

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ggm
Yes. I think I do. Which is at the heart of any tax discussion: _So you expect
all local citizens to accept higher taxes because of the community utility
function you expect everyone to contribute to_

What you're driving to, is that get off my goddam lawn and I drive over the
border to buy cheaper and screw the lot of you get off my lawn is really
fine.. except it isn't. Its pretty sad. But sure, its legal, go for it, don't
worry, I can't stop you. I can feel about it, but you don't care what I feel
so there's no downside. Right?

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lxmorj
It's a super inefficient mechanism. You're better off having everyone save a
bit by buying from Walmart, and be able to afford to go out to dinner once a
month - instead of never.

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ggm
The small towns I know, its your aunt who runs the store which shut, and its
your cousin who used to run the garage who is now nickel-and-diming. Neither
of them are working for tips in a restaurant.

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AndrewKemendo
I've read both Bezos' letter and this article and I can't find what value this
NYT article adds. There aren't any additional details, no comment from AMI or
others, no additional context.

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ilovecaching
"Hey guys let's threaten one of the most powerful, shrewd businessman on the
planet who has more money than God"

Well, rest in peace, hope Bezos doesn't launch them into space.

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MisterOctober
Another thing that strikes me is : Wouldn't that AMI lawyer feel embarrassed
to type up that pathetic threat letter?

"Hi, I am a high-powered attorney; my client has instructed me to describe
some photographs of you that some may construe as naughty..."

It just seems, I dunno, like beneath the dignity that one normally associates
with being a lawyer? I mean damn, if that's what the job entails, I bet most
people would rather drive a truck

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tw04
The type of person who asks their lawyer to send a message like that probably
only hires lawyers that are willing to send a message like that.

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dboreham
Baffling to see a _lawyer_ commit such an obvious and blatant opsec gaffe.

Also: can of whup-ass duely opened...

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asdff
There is always a market for a lawyer that will say "Sure, I'll do that."

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rhegart
This is actually insane. I know how it’s so wrong, but I’ve always been
curious at the inner workings of the behind the scenes things for the elite.
It’s like a movie...good on Bezos for not giving in, hopefully we’ll see some
justice here. Bad on him for cheating though

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eanzenberg
This is pretty disgusting, on the level of the "fappening". Can you imagine if
the National Inquirer was blackmailing Jennifer Lawrence over her nude photos?

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ychen306
unfortunately yes

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Waterluvian
This seems like absolutely the right strategic move in his position.

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rhema
I know it's morally wrong to exploit people like Jeff Bezos. If he were some
nobody, this would not be news. As it is, he is undoubtedly one of the richest
and most influential people in the world. Because of this, his very human
mistakes aired out in public seems tit-for-tat. This is the sword of Damocles
in action. It's a natural disincentive for too much ambition and opulence.

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amrx431
RIP National Enquirer.

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Lorenzo45
Here's to hoping that this evidence gets us one step closer to impeaching
Trump. The core theme of his letter seems to tie all of this back to the
president.

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bokumo
It appears Jeff Bezos has partially doxed Howard Dylan. In the email he
published he removed Dylan's phone number and email address, but the image
included, probably as Dylan's signature, clearly shows his phone number and
email address.

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morpheuskafka
If your an exec at a media company, it is understood that your (business)
phone and email will become widely shared public knowledge. This wasn't even
his personal information, but simple a work email and phone that doesn't even
belong to him, but to his employer.

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diogenescynic
Trump’s minion trying to blackmail Bezos because of the Washington Post’s
investigations into the Trump admin. Just further evidence that Trump must be
impeached, and sooner rather than later.

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nvr219
dang

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mlthoughts2018
No need to bring any mods into this. The legal system can handle it.

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jamesrom
Something about this begs belief. Stand by.

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empath75
I hope he takes them to the cleaners.

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thisisweirdok
World's richest man uses Medium to post an article? OK.

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rjplatte
Where would you post it if you were him?

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philipov
I'd buy a country and have it inscribed in the earth so it can be read from
space.

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ellius
You’re the kind of person I’m rooting for to become a billionaire.

