The Uber Files, which is the collective term for 124,000 internal Uber documents that have been leaked to The Guardian and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and other news outlets, have revealed far from flattering details involving how Uber was run.
The leaked internal documents span "a five-year period when Uber was run by its co-founder Travis Kalanick, who tried to force the cab-hailing service into cities around the world, even if that meant breaching laws and taxi regulations," according to The Guardian.
Here is what we have learned from the Uber Files:
French President Emmanuel Macron Secretly Helped Uber During His Time as Economy Minister
According to The Guardian, text messages between Kalanick and current French President Emmanuel Macron, who was economy minister at that time, are part of the massive leak. The report says that Macron secretly helped Uber and even allowed the company direct access to him and his staff.
"Macron, the French president, appears to have gone to extraordinary lengths to help Uber, even telling the company he had brokered a secret 'deal' with its opponents in the French cabinet," The Guardian's report says.
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Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Mentioned in Leaks
While Uber's relationship with Macron is smooth-sailing based on the leaked text messages, the same probably cannot be said for US President Joe Biden and German Chancello Olaf Scholz. In fact, Scholz was called "a real comedian" by an Uber excutive after the then-mayor of Hamburg insisted that Uber drivers should be paid a minimum wage.
As for Joe Biden, the report narrates that when the then-vice president was late for a meeting with Uber during the World Economic Forum at Davos, Kalanick had sent a text message to a colleague that read "I've had my people let him know that every minute late he is, is one less minute he will have with me."
Kalanick Allegedly Ordered French Employees to Tell Drivers to Counter-Protest Taxi Strikes in Paris
A report by Engadget highlights Kalanick's alleged order to French employees to encourage Uber drivers to launch a counter-protest against taxi strikes happening in Paris. The Guardian's report add that this counter-protest was encouraged to have mass civil disobedience.
When Kalanick was warned that things may get violent and physical and that people may get hurt, he reportedly replied that he thought it was going to be worth it. He is said to have said, "Violence guarantee[s] success. And these guys must be resisted, no?"
The Guardian said that a former senior executive told the publication that this was Uber's way of "'weaponizing' drivers, and exploiting violence against them to 'keep the controversy burning.'" This same strategy was allegedly repeated in other countries, such as the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain, among others.
