Uber executive takes aim at critical journalists Uber faces renewed questions over its corporate ethics after a report that a senior executive suggested the driver-hailing company should consider hiring investigators to look into the "personal lives" of critical journalists. The comments were made by Emil Michael, Uber's senior vice-president of business, at a private dinner in New York and reported on Monday by a BuzzFeed editor who attended the event. The controversy comes at a crucial time for the company, as it embarks on its second round of fundraising in six months. Uber hopes to raise more than $1bn at a valuation likely to exceed the $17bn achieved in its previous fundraising, people familiar with the deal have told the Financial Times. Mr Michael did not deny BuzzFeed's report that he suggested spending "a million dollars" on opposition researchers to find information that might be used to discredit reporters who have criticised its corporate behaviour. "The remarks attributed to me at a private dinner, borne out of frustration during an informal debate over what I feel is sensationalistic media coverage of the company I am proud to work for, do not reflect my actual views and have no relation to the company's views or approach," Mr Michael said in a statement provided by Uber. They were wrong no matter the circumstance and I regret them. Another attendee at the dinner, who asked not to be named, broadly confirmed to the FT the exchange between Mr Michael and Ben Smith, BuzzFeed's editor-in-chief, who had earlier put a provocative question to Travis Kalanick, Uber chief executive. Nairi Hourdajian, Uber's communications chief, added: "We have not, do not and will not investigate journalists. Those remarks have no basis in the reality of our approach. Uber is no stranger to controversy, with its regular tussles with regulators and taxi unions and criticism of its aggressive competitive tactics, such as poaching drivers from its main US rival Lyft. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair magazine, Mr Kalanick admitted to trying to disrupt Lyft's fundraising efforts earlier this year by warning prospective investors that it planned to raise millions more soon after. Fred Wilson, tech investor at Union Square Ventures and backer of rival taxi apps Hailo and Sidecar, called the tactic "unethical and unsavoury." Lyft succeeded in raising $250m in April, but Uber in June raised $1.2bn and is now seeking further funds. In recent interviews with the FT, Mr Kalanick has said that he feels Uber's reputation as an aggressive operator is undeserved. This summer, Mr Kalanick hired David Plouffe, former presidential campaign manager for President Barack Obama, to help him fight what he has styled as a political battle against the taxi industry. "I don't subscribe to the idea that the company has an image problem," Mr Plouffe told Vanity Fair. I actually think when you are a disrupter you are going to have a lot of people throwing arrows. Nonetheless, the controversies surrounding Uber do not appear to have stunted its growth. A recent report on Business Insider pegged its annual growth rate at 300 per cent, with projected 2015 revenues of $10bn. Uber, which does not publicly disclosed financial information, declined to comment on that report.