Uber is furiously doing some damage control after it seemed to have been caught trying to profit from a protest against US bigot-in-chief Donald Trump's executive ordering banning people from seven predominantly Muslims countries from entering the US.  This is why you might be seeing the hashtag #DeleteUber on your social media feed.

As Muslims from the seven nations - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen - arrived in US airports and then found themselves in limbo at the immigration check in, protests grew just outside the terminals.  On Saturday, The New York City Taxi Workers Alliance called for a temporary halt to rides heading to John F. Kennedy International Airport in solidarity with the detainees and protesters.

But then Uber temporarily suspended its surge pricing for people going to the airport, and to be sure there were protesters taking Uber there to join the demonstration.  However, many people interpreted Uber's decision as an opportunist attempt to cash in on a bad situation, one that many consider to be nothing short of a constitutional crisis.  At the same time, rival ride sharing service Lyft said it would donate US$1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which asked a federal judge for the court order that resulted in the freeing of detainees.

And thus was born the hashtag #DeleteUber.  Users were angered by the fact that the company didn't completely halt service in solidarity lashed out by canceling their accounts and deleting the app from their mobile devices.  Many included screen shots of the process, as well as notes to Uber explaining why they were switching to Lyft.  Celebrities like George Takei, Janelle Monae, and Lena Dunham spread the word.  For Uber, it was a repeat of the rumors that followed in the wake of the terrorist attack in Paris in November of 2015.

While the company didn't act in solidarity with the protesters and detainees, it is hardly on board with Trump's bigoted order.  CEO Travis Kalanick was one of the first Silicon Valley chiefs to come out against the travel ban, because many of the company's drivers could be hurt by it.  He also announced that Uber is creating a US$3 Million legal fund for drivers affected by the Trump travel ban.  It would help drivers with immigration and translation services, provide 24/7 legal support to drivers stuck outside the country. and compensate them for lost earnings.

But many critics remain unconvinced.  It didn't help that Mr. Kalanick is a member of the Trump's advisory council on business.  "You are 20 hours too late," wrote one person on Kalanick's Facebook page.  "Still deleted my account today," wrote another.