Most worrying aspect of Coldplay concert scandal has to be the ubiquity of online tripe
Coldplay couple
story?' a colleague said to me the other day. I very much doubted I would know.
We were speaking nearly a week after Andy Byron, the chief executive of tech company Astronomer, was caught on a giant video screen at a Coldplay concert in Boston with his arms wrapped around a woman who was a) his head of HR and b) not his wife.
Byron had by then been a top-trending Google topic from Australia to Albania, and it seemed unlikely there was anything compelling left to say about him.
But my colleague made a good point: for those of us who deal with the vast corporate PR industrial complex, it was notable to watch a top executive fall so comprehensively that no amount of fudging or obfuscation could save him.
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The Coldplay concert happened on a Wednesday. Astronomer's board said it was investigating the matter on Friday. Byron resigned on Saturday. The HR head went less than a week later.
Never having heard of Astronomer before, I have no idea about its normal PR strategies. Perhaps it always takes this forthright approach to bad news. That would make it unusual in a world where media inquiries about corporate impropriety, no matter how well-founded, are often met with a 'no comment', a huffy denial, or a threat of legal action.
It's been like this for years, as a lay-off strewn news industry continues to confront a far more buoyant public relations sector. In the US alone, there were nearly five PR people for every journalist in 2013 and by some counts, the ratio has since widened to more than six to one.
There are, of course, a lot of decent PR professionals and yes, journalists have long been among the least trusted people. Though a 2024 global survey suggests we are now doing better than politicians and are level with bankers and, as it happens, business leaders.
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This improvement is welcome because the Coldplay affair underlines another critical point: the need for robust journalism in an age of rampant and grimly effective fake social media 'news'. One of the most notable aspects of the incident was the spread of fabricated online statements purporting to be from those involved.
Contrary to what you might have read (and may still believe), Byron did not say he found it troubling that 'what should have been a private moment became public without my consent'.
His wife did not post a tearful statement about the scandal. Coldplay did not say it would now have camera-free audience sections for people and their 'sidepieces'.
Likewise, the red-faced woman filmed standing next to Byron and his HR head was not another Astronomer employee named Alyssa.
This avalanche of online tripe was so gigantic that Astronomer had to address it head-on.
'Alyssa Stoddard was not at the event and no other employees were in the video,' it said in a statement. 'Andy Byron has not put out any statement; reports saying otherwise are all incorrect.'
Alas, this came too late for some newspapers, which reported Byron's statement as fact. On the upside, proper news outlets corrected the mistake. Don't expect to see anything like this from the hoaxers, nor the social media platforms that hosted their nonsense.
And here is the serious point. Coldplay-gate doubtless caused hurt for those at the centre of it, and their families. But so far, the hoaxes it spurred have been relatively harmless compared with the plethora of online scams that continue to go unchecked. In the European Union alone, the latest figures show that internet fraudsters swindled people out of €4.3 billion in 2022.
Since then, there has been an explosion of artificial intelligence tools that help scammers make cheap and convincing fake videos of financial experts to lure consumers into making dodgy investments or disclosing personal data. Social media companies insist they remove adverts for this rot and constantly try to stay ahead of the fakers.
But as my colleague
Martin Wolf
wrote after discovering his identity had been faked by financial fraudsters, it is hard to believe tech giants, with all their resources, cannot do better.
The same goes for all the other unfettered online harm. Some governments are trying to legislate against this muck, notably in the EU. The Coldplay couple – and the misleading maelstrom that followed their exposure – are a reminder that many more authorities need to join them. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
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US ICE agents took half their workforce. What do they do now?
They gathered in a conference room for the weekly management meeting, even though there was hardly anyone left to manage . Chad Hartmann, president of Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha , pushed a few empty chairs to the side of the room and then passed around a sheet totalling the latest production numbers. 'Take a deep breath and brace yourselves,' he said. For more than a decade, Glenn Valley's production reports had told a story of a steady ascent – new hires, new manufacturing lines, new sales records for one of the fastest-growing meatpacking companies in the midwest. But, in a matter of weeks, production had plummeted by almost 70 per cent. Most of the workforce was gone. READ MORE Half of the maintenance crew was in the process of being deported, the director of human resources had stopped coming to work, and more than 50 employees were being held at a detention facility in rural Nebraska. Hartmann (52), folded the printed sheet into tiny squares and waited out the silence. 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Employees from Mexico and Central America stood on a manufacturing line for 10 hours a day, six days a week, and processed hundreds of pounds of meat through dangerous machinery in a cold factory. Ever since videos of the raid spread across social media, Rohwer had answered dozens of calls from strangers who accused him of 'stealing American jobs'. But Nebraska was experiencing a work shortage, with only 66 qualified workers for every 100 jobs. Almost every one of the company's new applicants was also a Hispanic immigrant. 'There are some jobs Americans don't want to do,' Rohwer tried explaining to one caller. 'We're caught up in a broken system.' The department of homeland security had accused many of the company's former employees of working under stolen IDs, which E-Verify didn't always catch if the ID number itself was valid. When Rohwer met with officials after the raid to ask for a better system, they told him to keep using E-Verify. 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Photograph: Erin Schaff/ The New York Times Detention centre It had taken three days for Elizabeth Rodriguez's family to figure out where she was. Her children had seen the raid on Facebook and watched videos that showed Rodriguez (46), being marched on to a bus in her factory smock and hard hat. Her eldest son, Omar (23), searched detention records and contacted her co-workers, police and local politicians. 'Where are they taking her?' he kept asking, until his mother finally called from a detention centre across the state. 'This call will be limited to 15 minutes,' a recording warned, and his life had been revolving around those phone calls ever since. Now, Omar felt his phone ringing again in his pocket and checked the number. 'Mom Jail,' the caller ID read. He answered and waited for the line to connect. His parents had spent the past 25 years in Omaha, building a life with such care and stability that to Omar it started to feel 'normal, even stable,' he said. His parents met in Mexico and eventually crossed the border together on foot in their teens. They married in Nebraska, found work and bought a small house on the outskirts of downtown where they could raise their four children, all US citizens. A few months earlier, Omar had encouraged his mother to hire a lawyer to help her explore a path to citizenship. She had a 'perfect case,' the lawyer wrote: No criminal record. Long-standing ties to the community. A steady job with good reviews. She took on extra hours to pay legal fees and nursed sores on her feet. It wasn't in her nature to complain, not even now, about the raid, the detention centre or the lawyer she could no longer seem to reach. 'How are you?' Omar asked in Spanish, once Elizabeth came on the line. Her children crowded on to the couch and gathered around the phone. 'I'm fine,' she said. 'Tell me about all of you. Are you eating? Sleeping?' 'Don't worry,' Omar said. 'Everything's OK.' 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She had declined the government's offer of $1,000 (€859) and a free plane ticket to self-deport back to Mexico. Omar was trying to come up with $5,000 (€4,293) to pay for her bond so she could be released to her family while her deportation case played out in the courts. They had all begun drafting letters to submit on her behalf. Omar's oldest sister, 17, had written about how her mother had supported her through episodes of depression, helping her find a therapist and switch schools. 'I am still alive because of my mother,' she wrote to the judge. 'Now that she's gone, it's like I'm breaking a little more every day. I fear what will happen to us if she can't come home.' 'You have one minute remaining,' the automated voice said. 'Are you still there?' Omar asked. 'Yes. I'm here. I love all of you,' she said, and the children took turns saying goodbye. 'Everything is going to work out,' Omar told her, but the line was already dead. Daisy Hernandez, a manager at Glenn Valley Foods. Photograph: Erin Schaff/ The New York Times Skeleton crew The factory was empty. The machines sat silent. Back orders continued to pile up as a skeleton crew arrived at 7am to restart the manufacturing lines. Hartmann walked through the lobby, handing out coffees and greeting eight new employees who were reporting for their first day. They had been interviewed and hired, but they couldn't start until they were authorised to work through E-Verify, so a manager named Daisy Hernandez took their IDs and I-9 forms into her office and started punching in the numbers. None of the eight new hires were US citizens. They had submitted paperwork based on green cards, alien registration numbers, temporary visas and work authorisations. Hernandez tried to log into E-Verify, but her password didn't work. She tried again, and the account was locked. 'How's it going?' Hartmann asked, as he stopped by her office, but the answer was implied: the new employees were playing games on their phones in the break room. The manufacturing lines were falling further behind. Hernandez called Glenn Valley's former HR manager for help, and a few minutes later Hernandez was logged back into the account. She typed a new set of names into the same system and checked the first employee. 'The information entered did not match DHS records.' 'Down to seven,' Hernandez said. She set the application to the side and moved on to the next. 'Alien authorised to work,' it said. Cruz. Rivas. Lopez. Dominguez. 'Authorised to work,' it said, and even if the system had failed them before, it was still what the government suggested they use. Hernandez printed out a batch of company IDs and brought them into the break room, where seven new employees were waiting for their final words of training. 'Thanks for being here in our time of need,' Hartmann said, as he glanced around the room, registering all the people who were still missing. 'We want to thank you for joining our family.' A manager briefed the employees on food safety and handed out white smocks and construction hats. Then he opened the factory door to a rush of cold air and the clatter of machines. The workers lined up alongside a company slogan printed at the entrance. 'Together we achieve more,' it read, and they stepped on to the factory floor. This article originally appeared in The New York Times . An employee at the Glenn Valley Foods meatpacking plant in Omaha, Nebraska. Photograph: Erin Schaff/ The New York Times
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
EU-US trade deal: Any future US tariffs on pharma exports to be limited to 15%, EU insists
The European Union is confident that any future US tariffs on its exports of pharmaceutical products would be limited to a 15 per cent rate, under the terms of the recent agreement, senior officials have said. The final terms of the deal were worked out during a meeting between European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and US president Donald Trump at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland on Sunday. The deal will lock in tariffs of 15 per cent on most EU imports to the US , but prevent the prospect of an economically devastating trade war. The US has been preparing to levy tariffs on the EU pharma industry, which Mr Trump previously threatened could be at cripplingly high rates of up to 200 per cent. READ MORE The industry has escaped any tariffs to date, but the Trump administration has been planning to hit the sector with specific levies. Ms von der Leyen, who negotiated the final part of the deal with Mr Trump, said the agreement would cap any future pharma tariffs at a blanket 15 per cent rate. The two sides agreed that no tariffs would be charged on imports of aircraft, certain chemicals and some agri-food goods, though the finer details of what agricultural products will benefit from these exemptions are still to be worked out. Challenge for Ireland Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said there is 'no doubt' Ireland is in a challenging position in relation to tariffs but that the agreement does bring 'some clarity'. Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke. Photograph: Conor Ó Mearáin / Collins Photo Agency Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland on Monday, Mr Burke said the EU was four days away from 30 per cent tariffs, which would have been 'significant', while the Government is awaiting more details to emerge. Mr Burke said there would be a number of 'carve-outs' for particular sectors such as aviation, agri-foods and spirits. He said the Government was concerned about the 'stacking mechanism', which refers to the cumulative effect of multiple tariffs applied to the same imported product. 'All of those areas have been called out for separate carve-outs, so we have to see what that will look like and what will that amount to on paper, and that's where the devil is going to be in the detail,' he said. However, businesses are more cautious about the deal. Lobby group Ibec said it represents a 'substantial burden' for many industries, and the most exposed sectors will require Brexit-style supports. 'Our message to the Government, as it was with the 10 per cent tariff, is that the most exposed sectors will require support similar to the interventions provided as a response to Brexit,' he said. Irish whiskey industry The EU and the US sides are to continue negotiations on the finer points of detail, including possible tariff exemptions for several sectors. It is understood spirits are one area on that front where the commission feel they are making progress, which would be welcome news to the Irish whiskey industry, a big exporter to the US. Eoin Ó Catháin, director of the Irish Whiskey Association, told The Irish Times he hopes the deal can 'provide the framework' for a return to zero-for-zero trade in spirits. 'The EU and US government agreed to this zero-for-zero arrangement in 1997, and since then our shared sector has experienced huge growth in value to the benefit of economies and communities on both sides of the Atlantic,' he said. Jameson whiskey: sells over 1 million cases annually across the Atlantic. Photograph: Aidan Crawley/Bloomberg 'It is therefore logical to return to this. As it currently stands, Irish whiskey and drinks producers face a 10 per cent tariff when exporting to the USA – our biggest market. 'This, combined with a weakened dollar, has placed significant pressure on our distillers, and some have unfortunately had to close their doors. A return to zero-to-zero would be a major help to these exporters.' He added he was hopeful 'a mutually beneficial arrangement and the removal of tariffs can be secured'. Dairy Industry Ireland director Conor Mulvihill said confirmation exports will now be subject to a single 15 percent tariff rate with no additional stacked duties was 'particularly important' for Irish dairy products such as butter. 'While the simplification of the new tariff structure, as set out in the deal, will make it easier for the sector to manage, we remain concerned about the broader implications of any tariff border on the island of Ireland,' he said. Conor Mulvihill 'The dairy industry operates on an all island basis, with integrated supply chains and cross-border trade in raw milk, ingredients, and finished products. 'Any divergence in tariff treatment between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland could introduce complexity, cost, and uncertainty for processors and farmers alike.' Deloitte Ireland chief economist Kate English said the EU 'was wise to pick their battles and to choose certainty'. 'Remember, this 15 per cent is not on top of existing custom duties – a good example we saw this weekend was Kerrygold butter, which is already subject to a 16 per cent custom duty, so will see little difference from yesterday's decision.' Daniel Mulhall, who served as Ireland's ambassador to the United States from 2017 until 2022, posted on X that the deal 'does not look like a great outcome for the EU'. Irish Ambassador to the US Daniel Mulhall speaking at the 2019 Conference In response to his post, former taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the deal will mean 'fewer EU exports to the US and higher prices for Americans'. He added: 'The only thing it's better than is no deal at all and that's only if it sticks.' Paul Sweetman, chief executive of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, said a 15 per cent tariff level is 'not an optimum trade environment' and will be a 'significant burden' to businesses already managing a 10 per cent tariff. 'However, the agreement does bring a new stability and allows business decisions to be made with greater certainty,' he added. Meanwhile, European governments and companies reacted with both relief and concern to the trade deal, acknowledging what was seen as an unbalanced deal but one that avoided a deeper trade war. France prime minister François Bayrou said Europe had submitted to the US on a 'dark day' for the union. 'It is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, gathered to affirm their values and defend their interests, resolves to submission,' Mr Bayrou posted on X. German chancellor Friedrich Merz rapidly hailed the deal, saying it avoided 'needless escalation in transatlantic trade relations'. German exporters were less enthusiastic. The powerful BDI federation of industrial groups said the accord would have 'considerable negative repercussions', while the country's VCI chemical trade association said the accord left rates 'too high'. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also expressed support for the agreement, calling it 'sustainable.' Market reaction European shares advanced to a four-month high on Monday, led by gains in pharma and semiconductor stocks. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.7 per cent. Most regional bourses were also in the green, with Germany's blue-chip Dax rising 0.6 per cent and France's Cac 40 gaining 0.8 per cent. UK's FTSE 100 added 0.1 per cent. Euro area government bond yields edged down on Monday, while investors assessed their bets on European Central Bank monetary easing. Markets saw an additional 25-basis-point rate cut as likely, but pushed back the timing, assigning a 65 per cent probability for the move by December and an 85 per cent chance by March 2026.
