Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive officer of Uber
Social media is the worst place to apologize for anything.
It’s a good medium for trumpeting a brand, communicating about information, and sharing your opinions and views. It is exactly the wrong place to fess up to anything.
Recently, the new CEO of Uber named Dara Khosrowshahi misspoke in an interview on HBO Sunday when he called the murder of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi “a mistake” and compared it to the mistakes Uber has made with self-driving cars.
It’s a ridiculous statement, and I’m sure Khosrowshahi regretted the statement as soon as it aired last night. The CEO emailed the reporter, who did a segment called Axios on HBO, and “expressed regret” for the language he used. (As you may know, Saudi Arabia is an Uber shareholder.)
Earlier today, Khosrowshahi then took to Twitter to issue an apology.
He said he regretted the wording, and there is “no forgiving or forgetting” the murder. He also said the Uber investors already know his views, presumably a reference to Saudi Arabian shareholders. Khosrowshahi is the successor to Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick who had so many gaffes it was hard to keep track of them all.
Predictably, Twitter users did not take kindly to Khosrowshahi’s apology. Some called for a boycott and started a Delete Uber campaign. Others criticized the Uber executive because they felt his original comments are the ones he really believes.
The problem, as usual, is that an apology doesn’t play well on Twitter.
It’s a medium that limits what you say to only 280 characters, which is often not enough for even a normal post. An apology that goes more in-depth, covers all of the angles, expresses remorse, and explains what went wrong is better suited for a video or a blog post as a way to at least offer more explanation.
I doubt Khosrowshahi believes any murder is a “mistake” and he likely really does regret the statements, which are definitely puzzling. In a short Twitter post, it’s impossible to really go into any detail about his choice of words or even try to explain why he would compare self-driving cars to murder. What is missing is the context, the detail, and the depth. However, the real reason it doesn’t work is that there is no emotion or sense of remorse. You can’t apologize using an emoji, and any apology on Twitter or social media won’t carry enough weight.
What Khosrowshahi really needs to do is not merely explain the context, but to truly express the emotion and the heart behind his apology. We need to know he is actually remorseful, and that he truly regrets the statements.
The more you post on social media without the emotional element, the more it seems like a cop-out. It’s similar to emailing an apology to someone. It means you didn’t take the time or make the effort to make an emotional connection.
Now for the real damage control: Khosrowshahi has dug a pretty deep hole already by using social media to apologize. What we need to see next and what Uber followers want is something that is more human, more emotional — and more real.
