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<li class="author-byline ks-author-byline"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/author/kate-taylor">Kate Taylor</a></li>
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<div class="image on-image"><img src="https://i1.wp.com/static2.businessinsider.com/image/598357cb4fc3c01c018b4f83-1086/image%20uploaded%20from%20ios%201.jpg" alt="Fish's Eddy" /><span class="caption-source"><span class="caption">A New York City store recently displayed a sign reading &#8220;F*ck Amazon.&#8221;</span><span class="source">Sarah Jacobs/Business Insider</span></span></div>
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<p>Walmart was once considered the symbol of everything that was wrong with the retail industry.</p>
<p>Now, Amazon is taking on that undesirable role.</p>
<p>Fish&#8217;s Eddy recently put a sign in its window reading<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fishs-eddy-amazon-window-display-walmart-comparisons-2017-8"> &#8220;F*ck Amazon: Fish&#8217;s Eddy is prime!&#8221;</a>The founder of the quirky New York City store assured Business Insider that the sign was meant as a joke highlighting the struggles of small businesses.</p>
<p>However, for many, anti-Amazon feelings are more intense.</p>
<p>In July, Birkenstock CEO David Kahan sent sellers of the brand&#8217;s shoes a brutal five-page email that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/birkenstock-ceo-lashes-out-at-amazon-in-brutal-letter-2017-7">accused Amazon of launching an &#8220;assault on decency.&#8221;</a> Birkenstock had encountered issues with the ecommerce giant selling counterfeit shoes, The Washington Post reported.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is a middle finger to all brands, not just Birkenstock,&#8221;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/birkenstock-ceo-accuses-amazon-of-modern-day-piracy/2017/07/25/24fa7644-7086-11e7-8f39-eeb7d3a2d304_story.html?utm_term=.742b6988f7b3"> Kahan told The Post in an interview.</a></p>
<p><span class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><span class="image on-image"><img src="https://i0.wp.com/static3.businessinsider.com/image/59833acc76084a11068b4bf3-1778/amazon-jobs-day-1269.jpg" alt="Amazon Jobs Day" /><span class="caption-source"><span class="caption">People line up, hoping to get hired, on Amazon Jobs Day.</span><span class="source">Sarah Jacobs</span></span></span></span></p>
<p>Amazon has coasted on its progressive reputation. The company has hovered near the top of Fortune&#8217;s list of most respected brands for years.</p>
<p>However, the tide seems to be turning — at least among some groups.</p>
<p>An online anti-Trump movement has been <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-prime-day-boycott-is-being-organized-by-anti-trump-group-2017-7">encouraging people to boycott Amazon</a> until the ecommerce giant stops selling Trump-related products and running ads on the far-right website Breitbart News.</p>
<p>At the same time, Trump supporters have threatened to boycott Amazon after news broke that it would support Washington State in a federal lawsuit challenging Trump&#8217;s executive order barring people from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US. And, in June, Trump tweeted that the &#8220;Amazon Washington Post&#8221; is &#8220;FAKE NEWS.&#8221;</p>
<p>Then there&#8217;s the question of Amazon&#8217;s treatment of its employees.</p>
<p><span class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><span class="image on-image"><img src="https://i2.wp.com/static1.businessinsider.com/image/598492e64fc3c0be3f8b4f9c-1777/amazon-jobs-day-1256.jpg" alt="Amazon Jobs Day" /><span class="source-only"><span class="source">Sarah Jacobs</span></span></span></span></p>
<p>While Amazon has been applauded for its <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-employee-benefits-2017-8">impressive benefits,</a> the company has been criticized following reports of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/11/amazon-accused-of-intolerable-conditions-at-scottish-warehouse">long hours</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/brutal-conditions-in-amazons-warehouses-2013-8">poor working conditions</a> in warehouses. Some white-collar workers have described a brutal working environment where people cry at their desks after being <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-employee-benefits-2017-8">pushed to their breaking point. </a></p>
<p>In 2014, Salon published an article with the headline &#8220;<a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/02/23/worse_than_wal_mart_amazons_sick_brutality_and_secret_history_of_ruthlessly_intimidating_workers/">Worse than Wal-Mart: Amazon&#8217;s sick brutality and secret history of ruthlessly intimidating workers</a>,&#8221; something that highlights both Amazon&#8217;s internal issues and how synonymous Walmart has become with everything that&#8217;s wrong with big business.</p>
<p>Basically, Amazon&#8217;s reputation is taking hits from all sides.</p>
<p>Small businesses – as well as bigger retailers — say that the ecommerce giant is threatening their survival. Progressive activists see the company as funding hate speech, while conservatives say it undermines the president. Workers&#8217; rights activists paint a picture of a company that prioritizes profit over people.</p>
<p>Many companies do similar things — and worse than what Amazon&#8217;s critics have described. However, Amazon is a prime target because of its size, just like Walmart has long been. When the company makes a misstep, it impacts many people, as the company employed 341,000 people as of February, <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2017/amazon-soars-340k-employees-adding-110k-people-single-year/">according to GeekWire. </a></p>
<p>Criticism grows as Amazon grows — and its current market cap is $482.19 billion.</p>
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