I think a lot of people have always had a negative view of Travis Kalanick and Uber's business practices, but they enjoyed the convenience of the service just enough to look the other way. Between the soaring valuation and recent events, that balance has shifted to the point where some people now refuse to use the service. At the same time, there is a lot of schadenfreude by people who disagree either with the valuation, or Travis Kalanick and the company's ethos. The media is just tapping into this interest with their coverage, as is their nature to do. So if anything, I'd say it's more like karmic retribution than a coordinated smear campaign.