Word of the Day: Infamous
Infamous means to be famous, but not for a good reason.
Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot are all examples of infamous people.
A similar word is notorious.
These days, major cities in China are notorious for their poor air quality.
On any given day, thousands of people walk and ride bicycles or motorbikes while wearing facemasks to filter the air.
There are also many consumer products which are famous for all the wrong reasons.
The herbicide Roundup is strongly suspected of causing cancer. Everyone in the Western world should know by now that tobacco products are infamous for causing disease and pollution inside enclosed spaces.
Being famous can be useful in many ways, but I cannot think of anything good about being infamous.
Now, we do have the expression there is no such thing as bad press (publicity), but I have my doubts about that one, too.
That said, though, there is a lot of value in name recognition, even if your name is known for the wrong reason.