Over the last week, Amazon execs launched some top grade Twitter snark against famous U.S. lawmakers. 

The weirdest part? The call to get wild on social media appears to have come from Mr. Amazon himself.  

• Amazon and politicians have long had adversarial relationships: But the company has taken the next step. After Bernie Sanders announced he would meet with employees attempting a union push in Alabama, an Amazon exec taunted him for not delivering on progressive promises. The official account for Amazon’s media relations team then got into a tiff with Elizabeth Warren that lasted for days.  

• Jeff Bezos directed it: According to Recode, he was behind the corporate shade. He had recently expressed to top employees the need for Amazon to fight criticisms with greater strength.   

Amazon has been under serious duress

There’s the obvious increased scrutiny among federal regulators. On top of that, several thousand Alabama employees may start a union. Their votes to unionize began on Tuesday (it is unclear when the results will come in). 

The Verdict

Even Amazon employees were taken aback by the tweets. One filed an internal report with the company expressing concern the company’s Twitter account had been hacked.