JTG MINI: The eBay Stalking Scandal

March 11
49 mins

Episode Description

In 2019, the CEO of eBay was caught up in a bizarre scandal that involved harassing a random married couple called David and Ina Steiner. David and Ina had live cockroaches, spiders and even a pig carcass mailed to their home, explicit magazine subscriptions addressed to them but delivered to their neighbours, their house posted online as the location of a swingers party, trackers placed on their cars and a funeral wreath couriered to their front door. But why did the CEO of a Fortune 500 company care so much about a nerdy couple living in the suburbs? David and Ina Steiner are journalists who ran a niche website called EcommerceBytes, writing about issues affecting people who sell things online. And when Ina wrote some stories about Ebay that CEO Devin Wenig didn't like, he gave his team the orders: "TAKE HER DOWN." . This is Just The Gist (MINI) of the eBay stalking scandal — the true story of the eBay harassment campaign that sent seven people to prison.

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Just The Gist is a Just The Network production. Executive Producer and Host: Rosie Waterland | Senior Producer and Editor: James Joseph | Producer: Kate Leaver | Additional production support: Hayley Staveley | Acast Legends: Guy Scott-Wilson and Simon McDermott | Production Assistant: Pocket

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Whatever It Takes: Inside the eBay Scandal (2024), dir. Jenny Carchman — available on ABC iview and Prime Video

Two newsletter publishers say eBay executives orchestrated a years-long harassment campaign against them — New York Times, 2020

DOJ Press Release: Six Former eBay Employees Charged with Aggressive Cyberstalking Campaign Targeting Newsletter Editors, 2020

eBay's Bizarre Stalking Scandal — 60 Minutes, CBS, 2023

EcommerceBytes — Ina and David Steiner's newsletter, still publishing

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