The definition of smear: "to damage the reputation of (someone) by false accusations; slander." Where is the 'smear ' here? Amazon has not made, or planned to make, false accusations against this worker.
It’s thus hard not to see attempts to frame him as “not smart” or “ not articulate” as classist and racist dog whistles intended to discredit a courageous man.
not a term that is scientifically accepted when discussing humans
If you want to be a credulous dupe and think that the richest man in the world and his highly-paid PR team don’t understand this history and context, be my guest.