Ride-sharing service Uber is having a hard time stopping journalists from writing articles about the company's mishaps. So in an attempt to curb the number of articles, senior vice president of business, Emil Michael, proposed finding private information on journalists and smearing them with it.

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In a private dinner with Buzzfeed reporter Arianna Huffington and actor Edward Norton, Michael reportedly had an idea of spending "a million dollars" to hire journalists and researchers to fight back the bad press Uber is receiving.

Sarah Lacy, the editor of PandoDaily, has been targeted by Michael as the main perpetrator of allegations after accusing the company of "sexism and misogyny" over the recent report that French Uber users could be paired with "hot chick drivers" for an extra price.

Stepping over the boundary of professionalism and personally attacking journalists is one few companies take, and for good reason. Michael and Uber have since said his remarks were not a company plan and was said in confidence at a private dinner (perhaps he shouldn't have told his plans to a member of the media).

Michael's may or may not face punishment for saying these things. It certainly does not stop the bad PR for Uber, even while the service continues to grow in popularity.

Uber has been a PR nightmare of late. The company's rival, Lyft, accused them of ordering cabs and then cancelling at the last minute in order to tangle drivers up and force delays for Lyft's customers.

Another report claimed Uber was sending recruiters into Lyft drivers' cabs, where they would offer a sales pitch about how Uber is a better service. This sales pitch would include gifts to the driver if they switched, including an iPhone and sat-nav.

TagsUber, Emil Michael, taxi service, Sarah Lacy, lyft