Millions of people are outraged over\u00a0President Trump\u2019s ban on Syrian refugees and Muslims\u00a0from seven countries entering the United States, but\u00a0there\u2019s no shortage of surplus ire for ride share service Uber. The startup was blasted for\u00a0exploiting the chaos,\u00a0eliminating surge prices in what appeared to undermine solidarity\u00a0efforts among cab drivers and protestors at JFK airport on Saturday, triggering a #DeleteUber social media campaign that\u2019s gained traction over the weekend.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0company was already in backpedal mode after recently announcing\u00a0a sizeable investment\u00a0deal with Saudi Arabia, a country with outdated, sexist restrictions against women drivers. CEO Travis Kalanick is also a member (along with Elon Musk) of Trump\u2019s Strategic and Policy advisory board, which may explain why efforts to clarify the specifics over the price surging scandal and promises to set up a $3 million legal defense fund, among other efforts at ensuring driver compensation,\u00a0haven\u2019t quite succeeded in a public\u00a0image upgrade.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Meanwhile second banana ride share service Lyft took a savvy 180 turn, offering to donate $1 million dollars to the ACLU, an organization dutifully fighting the Trump administration, including the most recent executive order.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Additionally,\u00a0Airbnb has offered its help\u00a0as a sharing economy first responder,\u00a0promising to find free housing for those\u00a0affected by Trump\u2019s executive order to bar these vulnerable travelers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Details are forthcoming, but Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, wrote on Facebook that the company would provide \u201cfree housing to refugees and anyone else who needs it in the event they are denied the ability to board a U.S.-bound flight and are not in your city\/country of residence.\u201d A\u00a0spokesperson for Airbnb gave a few more details as to how they would accomplish their goal. \u201cWe will leverage existing tools, like our disaster response tools, among others,\u201d according\u00a0to\u00a0Mashable.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Before the specter of Trump\u2019s policies became apparent, Airbnb thought they could have a relationship with him. Chesky said in an interview last month, \u201cPresident-elect Trump spent a lot of time talking about the quote-unquote ‘dwindling middle class.’ Someone who has talked about ‘how do you help the middle class’ out there, I think we feel pretty good that our value proposition here is something that makes a lot of sense.”\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This action may potentially cause Trump\u2019s administration to rethink that partnership, as he\u2019s been concerned with public perception in his first week to a fault.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mark Zuckerberg has also come out against Trump\u2019s ban on Muslims.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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