My Bots Weblog

«L'astroturfing désigne le fait de donner l'impression d'un phénomène de masse qui émerge sur internet, en réalité créé de toutes pièces pour influencer l'opinion publique. Fabrice Epelboin, enseignant à Sciences Po Paris, nous explique. A l'ère de la post-vérité, au milieu des fake news et alternative facts, émerge l'astroturfing. Cet anglicisme un brin barbare, qui évoquerait plutôt un délire mystique ou une nouvelle façon de lire son horoscope, fait référence à un procédé perfide qui sévit sur internet : la simulation d'une activité ou d'une initiative qui serait issue du peuple, en réalité montée de toutes pièces par un acteur souhaitant influer sur l'opinion.»...
Source: http://www.lesinrocks.com | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«L'astroturfing est une technique permettant, via Internet, de simuler un effet de foule ou un mouvement d'opinion. La polémique autour de Tel-Aviv sur Seine, qui aurait enflé sur le réseau de micro-blogging Twitter, a fait la Une des grands médias. Et si le buzz #TelAvivSurSeine n'était que de la propagande en ligne ? Analyse.»...
Source: http://information.tv5monde.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«Former chemistry industry lobbyist Grant D. Gillham testifies at a hearing last month that he was misled about the safety of the products he was promoting. (California State Senate) For years, chemical companies hid their lobbying behind a fake citizens group How the chemical industry fooled state legislatures into killing tough regulations Grant D. Gillham stepped to the microphone in a California State Senate hearing chamber on April 13 and spoke out in favor of a bill mandating the labeling of children's products containing flame retardant chemicals.» [...] « Now a new report by the Center for Public Integrity adds to the record with evidence that Citizens for Fire Safety worked intimately with the American Chemistry Council, the chemical industry's lobbying arm, which has always disavowed any affiliation with Citizens for Fire Safety. "Neither ACC staff nor resources were used to support activities undertaken by the group," its chief executive, Cal Dooley, told a Maine legislator in 2012, according to a letter cited in the expose The CPI's report sheds new light on a lobbying and public information campaign waged for years by the chemical industry to defeat regulations on retardants. It shows how a big industry can cloak its lobbying power as grass-roots citizen activism. The chemicals at issue have been infused into bedding, upholstery and other household goods for decades on the presumption that they can prevent house fires. But scientific evidence suggests that they're easily absorbed through the skin and work their way into breathable household dust as treated fabrics deteriorate; according to one study, 97% of Americans have traces of the compounds in their blood. Laboratory studies suggest they're associated with cancer, thyroid and neurological problems, and other health effects. There are also doubts about their efficacy in preventing fires. The ACC's membership is a Who's Who of the global chemical industry, including Chevron, Dow Chemical, DuPont and the three firms directly involved in starting Citizens for Fire Safety -- Albemarle, Chemtura and ICL, or Israel Chemicals Ltd. The ACC says its role is overstated by the CPI investigation. "We disagree with the characterization of the relationship in the CPI story," Anne Kolton, the council's spokeswoman, told me Friday. "While we were certainly aware of one another, there was not any support or coordination between the groups." But as Gillham disclosed in a letter last month to California State Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), chairman of the Senate Committee on Business, Professions, and Economic Development, Citizens for Fire Safety was all but founded in the ACC's Sacramento office at a meeting in August 2007. The meeting launched what he called "a six-year relationship with the American Chemistry Council," which exercised "oversight" of his "grass-roots public relations campaign" to defeat legislation banning chemical flame retardants. When Gillham, a veteran tobacco lobbyist, urged his employers to revisit their scientific data on safety and efficacy in the aftermath of the 2012 Tribune investigation, he says, he was fired. By then the "citizens" group had made its mark. "Over the past eight years, we had five different bills [to regulate retardants] and they opposed every one," says Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). The organization spent lavishly across the country and in California. Gillham told CPI that it spent $22 million on lobbying and advertising to defeat a California measure in 2007. California lobbying records show it paid more than $4 million to Sacramento lobbyists from 2007 through 2012. The industry's campaign included heart-wrenching testimony from a prominent burn specialist, Dr. David Heimbach of Seattle, who presented stories of children burned and killed in fires preventable by flame retardants. The Tribune established that those stories were fabricated. But they met the goal of killing anti-retardant regulations. "There was no hope to pass a bill when you saw pictures of burned babies," says Ken Cook, president and co-founder of the Environmental Working Group and a long-term campaigner for stricter regulations on the chemicals. "But there were no such babies." Heimbach later gave up his medical license under the threat of disciplinary proceedings in Washington. The California legislature finally passed a measure in 2014 mandating warning labels on upholstered furniture with flame retardants. The state fire code also has been amended to remove a mandate that household fabrics be treated with the chemicals. The measure on which Gillham spoke last month, also sponsored by Leno, would add labeling requirements to treated infant and child products. Meanwhile, the industry is training its firepower on Capitol Hill, where it is pushing legislation to shift regulation of fire retardants to the federal government. Cook of EWG says the effect would be to force states to accept looser federal rules. "The goal of the sponsors is clearly to preempt state regulation," he says. »...
Source: http://www.latimes.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Analyse de Lobbying,Analyse des Stratégies d'Influence, Lobbying/Astroturf

«L’intérêt porté par les futurs acheteurs sur les avis d’autres consommateurs a fait de ces opinions un élément décisif de l’acte de d’achat sur internet. Cela a conduit à certaines dérives de la part de vendeurs mal intentionnés. Afin d’éviter que les avis de consommateurs ne perdent leur crédibilité, 43 organisations dont des associations de consommateurs, des fédérations professionnelles ainsi que des sociétés françaises et internationales, ont travaillé de concert pendant 18 mois. Cette enquête publique a aboutit à l’élaboration d’une norme, basée sur le volontariat et à vocation internationale, encadrant la publication des avis de consommateurs, publiée par l’Association française de normalisation (AFNOR) en juillet 2013.Dans sa version finale, cette norme AFNOR NF Z74-501 est proposée aux sites internet comprenant des avis relatifs à des produits comme à des services et préconise à leurs gestionnaires le respect des certes règles : 1. Concernant les auteurs : • l'identité des auteurs d'avis doit être connue par le gestionnaire du site (email, adresse ou numéro de téléphone), mais les avis publiés sont anonymisés ; • interdiction de rémunération des consommateurs publiant des avis (mais la norme ne préconise pas la mise en oeuvre d'un dispositif prévenant les conflits d'intérêts) ;»...
Source: http://www.village-justice.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«Samsung aurait-il dérapé pour dénigrer un concurrent ? A Taiwan, l'autorité en charge de veiller à la concurrence a lancé une enquête à la suite de plaintes qu'elle a reçues, dénonçant les pratiques de Samsung qui aurait localement recruté des étudiants pour attaquer et critiquer HTC. Le porte-parole de cette autorité a précisé que ces investigations avaient debuté la semaine dernière, précise l'AFP. Ces étudiants auraient été rémunérés par un agent mandaté par l'industriel coréen pour écrire des articles défavorables et publier des commentaires dénigrant la marque HTC et ses produits tout en faisant l'apologie des smartphones Samsung.»...
Source: http://www.01net.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«Si les faux commentaires visant à tromper l'internaute sont illégaux, ils sont pourtant très répandus. Et souvent suscités par de véritables entreprises : nous avons testé. Un Pinocchio en bois #Michiel Jelijs/Flickr/CC# Choisir un hôtel ou un restaurant grâce aux commentaires rédigés sur Internet. C'est une pratique courante, mais beaucoup ignorent que ces avis sont parfois complètement bidons. De nombreux sites comparateurs de voyages ou de lieux touristiques rédigent eux-mêmes les commentaires, ou utilisent les services d'agences de réputation en ligne. Une forme de publicité déguisée qui trompe le consommateur. Car 77% des internautes prennent en compte les avis et les notes laissés par d'autres sur des sites d'achats, selon une étude Médiamétrie publiée en juin. Pour vérifier cette arnaque, nous avons contacté une dizaine d'agences d'e-réputation, en nous faisant passer pour un client. Nous leur avons envoyé une demande de devis pour rédiger des commentaires factices. Cela pour le compte d'un site sur le point d'être créé qui compare de bonnes adresses d'hôtels, etc. Agences d'e-réputation mais aussi agences de presse Certaines agences se sont offusquées, en citant le code de la consommation. Ce dernier stipule qu'une pratique commerciale est trompeuse « lorsqu'elle n'indique pas sa véritable intention commerciale ». Une pratique illégale donc. Mais d'autres se sont montrées beaucoup moins regardantes. Trois agences ont répondu favorablement à la demande. Pour ne pas les citer : le cabinet parisien Protection Reputation, et les deux sociétés basées à Madagascar Softibox et IIS Madagascar. Avec des tarifs compris entre 2 000 et 2 500 euros selon les prestataires, pour 1 000 commentaires. A ce prix-là, la qualité devrait être au rendez-vous. « Les gens qui rédigent les faux avis sont les mêmes que ceux qui écrivent les communiqués de presse », dévoile un responsable de Protection Reputation.»...
Source: http://www.rue89.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«Le secrétaire d'Etat à la Consommation Frédéric Lefebvre a indiqué vendredi à l'AFP que huit procès verbaux d'infractions pour pratiques commerciales trompeuses ont été établis dans le cadre d'une enquête de la DGCCRF sur les faux avis de consommateurs sur internet, lancée début 2011. La justice est saisie, a-t-il précisé, rappelant que ces pratiques sont passibles de 2 ans de prison et de 187.500 euros d'amende. La Direction générale de la consommation, de la concurrence et de la répression des fraudes #DGCCRF#, a enquêté sur 104 sites, étudié plusieurs milliers d'avis et visité 34 sociétés. L'enquête, lancée après de nombreuses réclamations de consommateurs et de professionnels, a mis en lumière plusieurs types de pratiques, comme par exemple le gestionnaire de site qui rédige lui-même de faux avis de consommateurs. De même, certains professionnels s'expriment sur internet #forums, sites d'avis...# en omettant leur lien avec le produit ou le service, alors que les internautes pensent lire un commentaire indépendant. Sans oublier le gestionnaire de site qui censure totalement ou en partie les avis négatifs, induisant les consommateurs en erreur sur le niveau de satisfaction. M. Lefebvre n'a pas dévoilé le nom des entreprises concernées, mais a indiqué que certains acteurs sont "bien connus des internautes". Quatre procédures concernent des sites marchands dans les secteurs de la téléphonie, des produits cosmétiques et des enchères, a-t-il indiqué. Trois procédures portent sur des sites d'avis ou des forums: un site sur les bonnes adresses de voyages, un site de location et un site de loisirs. Enfin, une procédure concerne un prestaire de services internet #e-réputation#, a-t-il expliqué. "Tant qu'il n'y avait pas de procédure, il y avait sans doute un sentiment d'impunité de la part de professionnels", a estimé M. Lefebvre, qui a demandé à la DGCCRF de continuer les contrôles à ce sujet en 2012. Plus de la moitié des internautes #56%#, ont déjà déposé un avis ou une note sur un produit ou service sur la Toile, tandis que 66% consultent des avis avant d'acheter, dont 88% qui sont influencés par ces commentaires, selon une étude présentée en juin par Médiamétrie/NetRatings et la Fédération e-commerce.»...
Source: http://lci.tf1.fr | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«Le web regorge d'avis de faux clients...tous ravis. Une escroquerie à l'échelle industrielle ... les marques préfèrent passer par l'étranger. il existe des fermes de contenu à Madagascar ou à l'Ile Maurice. C'est moins cher plus discret et plus efficace qu'un stagiaire en France... Pour avoir une idée des tarifs, Le Point les a approchées... il n'a pas fallu huit heures pour obtenir un devis : 35 avis consommateurs par jour pour le tarif imbattable de 500 euros par mois. Soit environ 70 centimes par avis de 10 à 60 mots ....»...
Source: http://vigie-astroturf.blogspot.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«Désormais réuni à la plateforme de blogs Overblog ainsi qu'à la régie publicitaire Ebuzzing, le groupe Wikio annonce une levée de fonds d'environ 17 millions d'euros. Dans le même temps, il abandonne le nom Wikio au profit de sa marque B2B, Ebuzzing, et annonce la fermeture prochaine de Wikio Experts, sa ferme de contenus. Repositionnement de rentrée pour le groupe Wikio, qu'il conviendra désormais d'appeler Ebuzzing, du nom de sa régie publicitaire spécialisée dans la vidéo sur les blogs et médias sociaux. « Ebuzzing est notre activité qui connait la plus forte progression de chiffre d'affaires et représente déjà 70% des revenus du groupe. Ce changement de nom reflète notre stratégie de développement sur le marché du Social Media Advertising », explique dans un communiqué Pierre Chappaz, fondateur de Wikio et actuel CEO du groupe. Pour accompagner cette nouvelle stratégie, Ebuzzing disposera d'un apport de fonds de l'ordre de 17 millions d'euros #bien qu'européen, le groupe communique sur la somme de 25 millions de dollars#, levé auprès du fonds belge GIMV ainsi que des actionnaires historiques, dont Pierre Chappaz, Gemini et Lightspeed. Cet investissement valoriserait la société à quelque 100 millions d'euros. « Cette capacité d'investissement va nous permettre de réaliser de nouvelles acquisitions et consolider notre position de leader partout en Europe », commente Pierre Chappaz. La société s'est déjà montrée prolixe en la matière, avec 8 acquisitions sur les 18 derniers mois, dans le domaine du marketing en ligne notamment.»...
Source: http://pro.clubic.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«Sur le Net, de nombreux sites invitent les internautes à dire ce qu'ils pensent d'un service, d'un produit, d'un hôtel... Ces avis, censés être de bonne foi, sont destinés à aiguiller les consommateurs dans leurs achats. Malheureusement, ce principe est détourné par des sociétés qui les utilisent pour faire de « l'auto-promo ». Une pratique à laquelle Frédéric Lefebvre, secrétaire d'Etat chargé du Commerce, a décidé de s'attaquer dans le cadre d'un plan d'action consacré à l'e-commerce, présenté ce 21 janvier 2011 à l'occasion d'une visite au CSCE (1), l'antenne de la DGCCRF (2) dédiée au commerce électronique basée à Morlaix (Finistère). Il a confié à ces cyberenquêteurs le soin de faire le point sur le secteur des avis de consommateurs, qu'il s'agisse de publications sur des sites marchands, des forums ou des réseaux sociaux. Ils ont un an pour mener à bien leur mission, avec des points d'étape trimestriels. Le chantier est vaste : si l'on est certain que le nombre d'avis est en constante augmentation depuis 2008, il est actuellement impossible de quantifier la part d'entre eux qui sont frauduleux et donc d'estimer si le phénomène est en croissance. Le secteur de l'hôtellerie et des voyages semble être particulièrement touché par cette dérive. Eviter la publicité déguisée sur les blogs Les enquêteurs de la Répression des fraudes vont donc devoir trouver les bons protocoles pour parvenir à démêler, parmi les milliers de messages, ceux qui sont spontanés de ceux qui sont de nature trompeuse.»...
Source: http://www.01net.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«"Le marché doit s'autoréguler pour éviter une régulation autoritaire", c'est en ces termes qu' Alain Beauvieux, administrateur du GFII (qui réunit les acteurs du marché de l'information et de la connaissance) et François Laurent, coprésident de l'Adetem, ont annoncé au Semo la signature d'une charte d'éthique pour les études fondées sur l'observatoire de l'expression en ligne. Cette charte, désormais opérationnelle, a pour objectif de proposer de nouvelles règles d'autorégulation, nécessaires avec la montée en puissance du Web dans les études et permettant d'éviter une future législation contraignante. Avant, les études procédaient principalement par interrogation directe des consommateurs et/ou citoyens. Le Web permettant à tous les consommateurs et/ou citoyens de s'exprimer librement, de nouvelles approches en matière d'études marketing se sont développées, fondées sur l'écoute et l'analyse des opinions spontanément émises sur le Web. Les informations spontanées, issues des forums, réseaux sociaux et communautés, font passer les études d'un marché anonyme à un système où n'importe qui peut infiltrer les forums. A-t-on le droit d'utiliser l'information nominative? Comment s'assurer que les études ne contreviennent pas aux règles de préservation de l'identité numérique? "Internet a le défaut de posséder une très grande mémoire, rappelle Alain Beauvieux. Certains annonceurs n'hésitent pas à demander à leurs conseils de créer de faux groupes sur Facebook. Il faut faire la différence entre la réalité virtuelle et physique. Si je décide de m'appeler sur la Toile Toto 94, ce n'est pas pour que l'on retrouve que je suis Alain Beauvieux."»...
Source: http://www.e-marketing.fr | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«Les soldes sur Internet et les avis des consommateurs sont dans le collimateur du nouveau secrétaire d’Etat au Commerce, qui souhaite encadrer le commerce en ligne.Le secrétaire d'Etat au Commerce n'en finit plus de découvrir Internet. Après s'être familiarisé avec le Web 2.0, Frédéric Lefebvre s'intéresse aux critiques des internautes postées sur les sites de commerce électronique ou d'avis de consommateurs. Interrogé ce mercredi 8 décembre dans le cadre des Quatre vérités sur France 2, l'ex-porte-parole de l'UMP a déclaré : « Sur Internet notamment, sur la question des soldes et au-delà, il faut réguler, parce qu'il y a souvent des avis de consommateurs qui ne correspondent pas à la réalité. »»...
Source: http://www.01net.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«D'après Duan Yan, de Beijing, ce sont les mercaticiens en ligne qui créent les célébrités chinoises de la Toile. Avec plus de 384 millions d'internautes toujours avides de discuter ou de tourner en ridicule la « prochaine grosse affaire », la demande de célébrités en ligne, ces personnes devenues célèbres d'un jour à l'autre par la grâce d'un clip, d'un blog ou d'un post en ligne qui auront été vus du plus grand nombre, est devenue énorme. Ces dernières années, par exemple, des photos mises en ligne ont permis à un sans-abri de devenir célèbre parce que « bien habillé » et à une jolie fille d'un petit village de l'ethnie Qiang en costume traditionnel de devenir un véritable mannequin. Même si cela ressemble un peu à de la chance, d'après les analystes, ces personnes sont souvent les clients - et parfois victimes aussi - de ce qu'on appelle les « tuishou » (推手), les spécialistes du marketing en ligne toujours prêts à gagner de grosses sommes en les poussant sous les feux de la rampe. En payant des milliers d'internautes pour laisser des posts positifs ou négatifs sur les sites internet chinois populaires, et donc ce faisant générant de l'attention, les tuishou (littéralement les mains pousseuses) sont potentiellement en mesure de gagner des milliers de Yuans par le biais de dérivés publicitaires ou de d'opérations de promotion, et ce même si ce n'est pas le cas pour la vedette du show.»...
Source: http://french.peopledaily.com.cn | Source Status Categories: Tendances,Lobbying/Astroturf

«Borey Sok, 26 ans, facture ses services 80.000 euros l'année. Il est community manager (CM) free-lance. Son job se situe quelque part entre VRP, animateur de colos, évangéliste et conseiller marketing en ligne. Borey Sok fédère les internautes autour des marques ou produits de ses clients. Pour cela, il fait beaucoup de veille avant d'investir les forums, les blogs, les sites et les réseaux sociaux (Viadeo, Facebook, Twitter ou Myspace). Hors ligne, il invite des blogueurs "influents" à des soirées spéciales. Parmi les annonceurs qui ont pris contact avec lui, le manager cite des marques de luxe, des opérateurs télécoms ou des acteurs du monde de la musique. Il est aussi allé à la rencontre des compagnies d'assurances, "très réceptives". Sur Internet, les marques ont peur. Elles peinent à contrôler leur image. Selon la dernière étude Ipsos, plus d'un tiers des Internautes français se fient aux blogs pour leurs achats. Or, les commentaires des internautes ne sont pas toujours chaleureux, certains peuvent être assassins. Pour limiter les dégâts d'image, les annonceurs embauchent à tour de bras des community managers. "Les blogs sont une fantastique caisse de résonance", explique Xavier des Horts, directeur de la communication de Nokia. Le groupe vient de créer une cellule "Médias Sociaux ", qui compte quatre CM. 1000 euros les deux jours»...
Source: http://www.lejdd.fr | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«Le Canard Enchainé accuse le site Villepincom.net d'inventer des internautes qui posent les questions à l'ancien Premier ministre. Ouvert une semaine avant son procès, par une association qui soutient Villepin, le site est associé à un "réseau social" salué par plusieurs articles récents (Le Parisien, Le Figaro.fr, Le Monde.fr) car il a ainsi devancé le PS et l'UMP dans ce domaine. Mais... Sur le site, vendredi 25 septembre, Villepin répond en vidéo aux questions des internautes. Selon le Canard, la première question posée par un vrai internaute n'avait pas de rapport avec le procès Clearstream en cours : "Vincent me demande si l'on peut croire à la justice de notre pays?" En fait Vincent aurait posé la question 3 trois jours avant, sur le site, à propos de l'amende infligée à un automobiliste qui aurait percuté le scooter de Jean Sarkozy. Et les deux autres questions auxquelles répond la vidéo ont été posées par un dénommé Chris qui serait le pseudo de Christophe Carrignano, blogueur villepiniste, webmaster et animateur de ce réseau Villepincom.net»...
Source: http://www.arretsurimages.net | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Stratégie d'Influence et de Contre-influence,Crise/Analyse de Crise

«The Web site said an herbal remedy could cure cancer and offered miraculous firsthand accounts. One woman offered to "share my experience": The formula had routed her lymphoma, sparing her radiation treatment, she said. What Holly Bacon didn't mention is that she also owned the company selling the product she praised online, authorities said. A growing number of regulators, trade groups and site owners are cracking down on what are being called "AstroTurf" marketing - seeding the Internet with seemingly grassroots testimonials, reviews and comments that aren't as organic as they seem. The Federal Trade Commission told Bacon in a settlement last fall to tone down her claims and change her promotional tactics. And recently, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced a $300,000 settlement with a cosmetic surgery firm he said had employees pose as clients to write glowing testimonials and online journals. The FTC plans to vote this summer on updating 29-year-old guidelines on endorsements, making it clear they ban phony online reviews. "While we did not have such a thing called blogs or Twitter or the social media out there in 1980, the same principles about transparency and truth in advertising apply," said Richard Cleland, assistant director of the FTC's advertising division. Still, some experts say it may prove difficult to enforce traditional truth-in-advertising standards on the freewheeling, ever-expanding Web.»...
Source: http://www.sfgate.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«A total of 12 forged letters -- all appearing to come from local groups unhappy with a climate-change bill -- were sent to three congressional offices this summer by a Washington lobbying firm, according to the pro-coal group for which the firm was working. That is six more fraudulent letters than were previously known to have been sent by the firm, Bonner and Associates. The newly revealed letters were sent to Reps. Chris Carney (D-Pa.) and Kathy Dahlkemper (D-Pa.), according to the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, the trade group that hired Bonner and Associates. On Friday, a spokeswoman for Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.) said his office had received six fake letters, purporting to be from a Latino social-services group and NAACP members in his district. ad_icon Bonner and Associates bills itself as one of Washington's premier firms for grass-roots lobbying, which often involves eliciting phone calls, letters or e-mails from constituents or groups in a particular congressional district. On Tuesday, the firm was denounced by both the pro-coal group, whose president said it was outraged, and by the Hawthorn Group, an Alexandria-based public affairs firm that hired Bonner as a subcontractor in June.»...
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office sent out a fact sheet to reporters Tuesday afternoon, calling recent demonstrations at congressional town hall events "Astroturf," the Washington euphemism for a corporate public relations campaign disguised to look like a grass roots citizen movement. Pelosi said that while Democrats are putting forth proposals to reform health care, "those not interested in health insurance reform are disrupting public meetings and not allowing concerned constituents to ask questions and express their views. Many of these opponents who are shutting down civil discussion are organized by out-of-district, extremist political groups, and industry-supported lobbying firms." The statement, citing numerous media reports, linked disruptions of congressional meetings to the insurance industry and conservative organizations like FreedomWorks, which is run by former House Republican leader Dick Armey.»...
Source: http://www.politicsdaily.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«Dans le cadre de la loi HADOPI, un prestataire technique du groupe La Poste a été désigné pour implémenter la loi. Or, son identité est connue depuis une semaine sur le net. Des hacktivistes ont d'ailleurs publié des appels aux attaques informatiques contre ce prestataire ici. Or un commentaire curieux a été publié par un internaute, qui prend la défense de la société visée. Le problème, c'est que l'administrateur du blog a déterminé que ce message provenait d'un cabinet de communication d'influence (voir ici et ici). Il est absolument aberrant que des sociétés dont le métier est d'influencer discrètement dans le cadre de situations fortement conflictuelles ne prennent même pas la peine de masquer leur identité et leur adresse IP, lorsqu'elles interviennent sur des sujets aussi brulants...¦ Qui plus est en postant des messages sur des forums d'hacktivistes.»...
Source: http://www.knowckers.org | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Crise/Analyse de Crise

«Astroturfing Healthcare Reform: CBS Edition by Litz This morning Nashville CBS affiliate WTVF ran a canned piece provided by CBS about yesterday's anti-healthcare reform rally in Denver. They interviewed Jeff Crank, identified only as "a cancer survivor," who made the outrageous claim that he would have died had there been government healthcare during his ordeal. Seems there's a little more to Jeff Crank, however. More after the jump ... * Litz's diary :: :: * Actually, a little digging wasn't necessary. Try 2 minutes on Google. Jeff Crank is Colorado state director of Americans For Prosperity--as well as a conservative talk radio host, failed Republican candidate for Congress, and a lobbyist. AFP is a right-wing group which first made its name--wait for it--fighting workplace smoking regulations. Gee, you really want to listen to those guys on healthcare reform? Interestingly, yesterday ThinkProgress revealed that a right wing astroturf firm called DCI Group coordinates PR for an anti-reform group called Coalition to Protect Patients' Rights. DCI Group was formed in the mid ...˜90s to, you got it, "build public opposition to tobacco regulations." Methinks someone is doing some moonlighting, or else there's a little more coordinating going on than just DCI's work for CPPR. Anyway, Americans For Prosperity is that Koch Industries-funded astroturf outfit that organized the April 15 tea bagger events, then tried to make it look like they were spontaneous "grassroots" affairs. You might also have seen one of their anti-climate change hot air balloons around the country. They flew over the Gores' house in Nashville last month. This is why "astroturf" is so nefarious, and so effective: Colorado TV viewers may be familiar with Crank because of his failed Congressional campaign -- indeed, some papers there correctly identified him as State Director of Americans For Prosperity. But by the time that clip made it to Nashville, he's simply a "cancer survivor." Any reasonable viewer would think, "gosh, he must know what he's talking about, having been through cancer treatment and all that." And that's what they want you to think. This is a big organization, well funded by corporate interests, with ties to the Republican Party. Their Colorado State Director makes an appearance at a Denver rally and CBS identifies him as a "cancer survivor"? Epic media fail.»...
Source: http://www.dailykos.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«Les Echos révélaient avant hier qu'Extelia avait gagné l'appel d'offre portant sur la machine à spam la plus chère du monde et sponsorisée par vos impôts. En clair, c'est Extelia, un acteur inconnu mais qui a le bon gout d'être une filiale de la Poste, qui sera chargé de rappeler à l'ordre les terroristes d'internautes qui tuent les artistes. On aurait pu se payer les services d'un petit russe de 18 ans, ça aurait couté surement moins cher au contribuable. Oui mais voilà, il semble que cet acteur, qui va avoir pour mission d'avertir les internautes de leur « négligence caractérisée« , a un site web plus porté sur les courants d'air numériques que faisant preuve d'un minimum d'initiative pour montrer le bon exemple aux internautes qu'il entend avertir...¦. Effectivement, le site d'Extelia est vulnérable à de bêtes injections, en fouillant un peu, il doit même être possible de télécharger en Bittorent depuis le serveur qui abrite le site ...¦ la petite histoire ne nous dit pas l'HADOPI avertira Extelia pour sa « négligence caractérisée »...¦ Ce n'est pas la première fois que ce genre de petites histoires arrivent, on se souvient de notre expert du Net, alias Frédéric Lefèbvre l'admin des caves du 18e, qui a depuis oublié ce qu'était un .htaccess ...¦ Mais derrière le ridicule qu'elles révèlent, elles viennent une f! ois de plus démontrer que passer pour un con aux yeux d'un abrutis est un plaisir de fin gourmet ...¦ du coup, faut pas s'étonner de voir les internautes se délecter.»...
Source: http://bluetouff.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Crise/Analyse de Crise

«NEW YORK, N.Y. • Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a settlement with cosmetic surgery outfit Lifestyle Lift over the publishing of fake consumer reviews on the Internet. Under the settlement, Lifestyle Lift will stop publishing anonymous positive reviews about the company to Internet message boards and other Web sites, and will pay $300,000 in penalties and costs to the State of New York. The case is believed to be the first in the nation aimed at combating "astroturfing," a growing problem on the Internet. Lifestyle Lift employees published positive reviews and comments about the company to trick Web-browsing consumers into believing that satisfied customers were posting their own stories. These tactics constitute deceptive commercial practices, false advertising, and fraudulent and illegal conduct under New York and federal consumer protection law. The settlement marks a strike against the growing practice of "astroturfing," in which employees pose as independent consumers to post positive reviews and commentary to Web sites and Internet message boards about their own company. "This company's attempt to generate business by duping consumers was cynical, manipulative, and illegal," said Attorney General Cuomo. "My office has and will continue to be on the forefront in protecting consumers against emerging fraud and deception, including ...˜astroturfing,' on the Internet.»...
Source: http://www.oag.state.ny.us | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Tendances

«Recently, an effort to post all across the web fake comments supporting a key union cause has been discovered. In Internet activist talk, this is called "astroturfing." The term describes a campaign of fake comments posted on multiple websites where articles are discussing any particular issue about which the "astroturfers" want to have their position known. In this case the issue is the discussion of the woefully misnamed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and the "astroturfing" is an effort by union supporters to explain away the dangers this act represents to the American worker. The end result is supposed to be that when regular web users come to a page and see the pro-union message they imagine it to be from a "real" visitor. In truth it is an organized campaign to spam comments sections with a canned comment misleading readers into thinking "real people" support the position being "astroturfed." (i.e., since astroturf is fake grass, this laying on of a fake "covering" explains the reference) A website named The Truth About the EFCA, discovered the astroturfing effort in the form of the exact same comments in favor of the EFCA on at least three different sites posted under three different names. The site was alerted to this fact because its own site was one of the astroturfed sites.»...
Source: http://www.stoptheaclu.com | Source Status Categories: Tendances,Lobbying/Astroturf

«Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the British physician who jump-started the scare about a link between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism, manipulated and changed data to make his case in the 1998 Lancet paper, according to an investigation by the Sunday Times of London. The purported link has subsequently been refuted by a large number of epidemiological studies. That Lancet paper said that the families of eight of 12 autistic children attending a routine clinic at Wakefield's hospital claimed that symptoms of autism developed within days after they were given the shot -- or the "jab," as the British call it. Wakefield and his colleagues also claimed to have found the measles virus in the children's intestines and that the virus caused an inflammatory bowel disease linked to autism. But by studying confidential and public records, investigative reporter Brian Deer, who has been following the MMR controversy since the beginning, found a different story. Hospital and other records indicated that virtually all of the children had begun developing symptoms of autism well before the shot, Deer's report said. Hospital pathologists examining the children for signs of inflammatory bowel disease were unable to find it in most of the cases, Deer discovered, but Wakefield or someone on the team changed the data to make it appear as if the condition was found, Deer reported in the Times. At least one parent of a child in whose intestines the virus was said to have been found took samples to three other labs, which were unable to find the virus, Deer's report said. Moreover, Deer reported, Wakefield was retained as an expert witness two years earlier by a lawyer planning to sue vaccine manufacturers on behalf of parents who thought MMR caused their children's problems. The parents cited in the Lancet article came to Wakefield's clinic in response to an advertising campaign led by the lawyer's group, called Jabs, and not for routine screening, Deer's report said.»...
Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Sense About Science, un organisme britannique qui promeut la science auprès du public, publie un rapport annuel qui relève les déclarations scientifiques douteuses faites par des politiciens et des vedettes. Dans le rapport 2008 de Sense About Science, le test génétique personnel de 23andMe, déclaré invention de l'année 2008 par le magazine Time, est critiqué par le clinicien Mike Hallworth, qui souligne que ce kit pourrait créer des inquiétudes potentiellement infondées chez les clients qui apprennent, par exemple, qu'ils ont davantage de chances de développer des maladies graves telles que certains types de cancer.» [...] «Ellen Raphael, directrice de Sense About Science au Royaume-Uni, indique qu'elle ne s'attend pas à ce que la population connaisse tout de la science, mais elle souligne que les déclarations scientifiques douteuses de personnalités voyagent rapidement grâce à Internet et aux chaînes d'informations en continu. Elle invite les vedettes à vérifier la véracité de leurs déclarations en consultant au préalable un des 3000 scientifiques qui travaillent bénévolement pour le réseau Sense About Science. »...
Source: http://science.branchez-vous.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«La polémique concernant les risques accrus de développer une sclérose en plaques à la suite d'une vaccination contre l'hépatite B n'est pas morte. Illustré par des témoignages douloureux et étayé par des explications scientifiques, ce documentaire dérangeant propose de faire la lumière sur ces vaccins qui se transforment en poison dans un nombre croissant de cas. Du mercure et de l'aluminium : ce sont les substances que l'on peut trouver dans certains vaccins administrés aux enfants de manière récurrente dès leur plus jeune âge. Même si ceux-ci ont permis aux sociétés occidentales de maitriser des fléaux comme les hépatites, le tétanos ou la poliomyélite, ce film avance qu'ils ont probablement favorisé le développement de maladies neurologiques, dermatologiques ou rhumatologiques. A Québec, les parents du petit Alexis, 2 ans et atteint d'une encéphalite, en témoignent. Depuis qu'on lui a injecté six vaccins dans la même journée, Alexis « ne sait plus avaler, ne sait plus parler, ne sait plus marcher ». Des études épidémiologiques américaine, française et canadienne laissent penser que le mercure, présent sous forme de conservateur dans certains vaccins courants comme l'antitétanique ou les antigrippaux, entrainerait des troubles du comportement et du développement. D'autres vaccins à base d'aluminium cette fois, à l'instar des antihépatites, pourraient provoquer des maladies neuromusculaires (lire l'encadré). Aurélie, une jeune femme pleine de vie malgré sa maladie, explique qu'elle a manifesté les premiers symptômes de la sclérose en plaques à la suite d'une vaccination contre l'hépatite B.»...
Source: http://www.france5.fr | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Selon une étude Ipsos, les internautes accordent deux fois plus de crédit à l'avis d'autres consommateurs sur Internet qu'à la publicité, tandis que 44 % d'entre eux ont déjà annulé un achat prévu en raison de commentaires négatifs lus sur Internet. C'est pourquoi Synthesio, startup fondée en 2006 par deux diplômés de l'ESSEC, a choisi de créer un outil d'analyse qualitative et quantitative de la réputation des marques. Synthesio Consumer, véritable sondeur d'opinion, surveille ainsi plus de 5 millions d'avis d'internautes chaque mois dans le monde entier. Les technologies innovantes développées par Synthesio offrent aux directions marketing et communication un suivi en temps réel de l'image de leurs marques au sein de tous les médias alternatifs : forums de discussion, blogs, commentaires et avis de consommateurs, sites de partages de vidéo (Youtube, Dailymotion, etc.) et maintenant les sites de vente en ligne (Ebay, Kelkoo, etc.). Les clients de Synthesio Consumer sont immédiatement alertés dès qu'une discussion polémique menace l'image de leur marque tandis qu'un tableau de bord en ligne analyse pour eux les rumeurs et les tendances associées à leurs thématiques stratégiques. Les influenceurs (adeptes et détracteurs de la marque) sont identifiés afin d'offrir une capacité de réaction immédiate. Loic Moisand cofondateur de Synthesio rappelle qu' « un article publié sur un site influent peut générer plusieurs centaines de commentaires d'internautes en quelques heures. C'est pourquoi nous informons nos clients en amont, avant qu'un buzz négatif ait le temps de se propager sur tout le web. » Conçu en collaboration avec 150 experts du marketing et de la communication, Synthesio Consumer est d'ores et déjà utilisé par 25 grandes marques de réputation mondiale (Accor, Nike, Renault Trucks, etc.).»...
Source: http://www.mag-securs.com | Source Status Categories: Outils,Tendances,Lobbying/Astroturf

«Flux RSS * Créer un post o Post o Sondage o Diaporama Clicquez ici ! Combien tu prends, pour détruire mon concurrent ? icone des tags blog, lobby, influence, argent, Faits-divers Avatar Posteur invité par la rédaction du Post Par William Rejault le 26/10/2008, vu 5059 fois, 11 nombre de réactions Post vu en Une J'ai été contacté, il y a quelque temps, par un jeune homme qui demandait à me rencontrer, pour des raisons professionnelles. J'ai un planning assez chargé, mais le garçon semblait empressé de faire affaire avec moi, voulant allier "plaisir et travail", en évoquant mon blog. Curieux, je lui donne rendez-vous en plein Paris. Il me parait un peu méfiant, de prime abord, et regarde autour de nous, plusieurs fois, en vérifiant que je suis bien venu seul. Il le fait discrètement mais je le note quand même, étant légèrement devenu paranoiaque moi aussi, à fréquenter de parfaits inconnus surgis du Web : on rencontre de drôles d'oiseaux, en cinq ans de blog, croyez-moi.»...
Source: http://www.lepost.fr | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«Jeudi 04 Septembre 2008 ->Les Grands Débats de BFM -> 10h00 à 11h00 : Les entreprises ont-elles une stratégie de communication web ? - Stanislas Magniant, Directeur Conseil chez Publicis Net Intelligenz - Eric Maillard, Directeur Général d'Ogilvy Public Relations France - Jérôme Callec, fondateur de Linkeo»...
Source: http://www.radiobfm.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Communication/Stratégies

«(NaturalNews) Most people have been told over the years that you cannot catch cancer from someone else. Unlike the fear of AIDS conjured up by the cleverly contrived media blitzes of the 1980's, cancer has generally been seen as often incurable, quite frequently ultimately fatal, yet whilst a terrible disease that strikes too many, we have always been thankful that it is not contagious. But, if you have not done so already, it is now time to re-evaluate this belief and all because of the misguided medical machinations of profit-seeking pharmaceutical companies in cahoots with inexcusably ignorant politicians throughout the last half century. It is intriguing to take a look over the statistics of mortality over the last century or so for countries such as the U.S. and U.K. The figures imply that certain major diseases have greatly contributed to the death-toll over the years. In the main, these illnesses have gradually been "conquered" largely due to improved sanitation. Advances in science and medicine may also have played a part, but their role has been substantially over played by the media, politicians and pharmaceutical manufacturers for their own questionable reasons.»...
Source: http://www.naturalnews.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«ATLANTA ...” Measles cases in the U.S. are at the highest level in more than a decade, with nearly half of those involving children whose parents rejected vaccination, health officials reported Thursday. Doctors are troubled by the trend fueled by unfounded fears that vaccines might cause autism. The number of cases is still small, just 131, but that is only for the first seven months of the year. There were 42 cases all of last year. "We're seeing a lot more spread. That is concerning to us," said Dr. Jane Seward of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC's review found that many cases involved home-schooled children not required to get the vaccines. Others can avoid vaccination by seeking exemptions, such as for religious reasons. Measles is a potentially deadly virus that spreads through contact with a sneezing, coughing, infected person. In a typical year, only one outbreak occurs in the United States, infecting perhaps 10 to 20 people. So far this year through July 30, the country has seen»...
Source: http://www.currentargus.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Warning Letters have been sent to 23 U.S. companies and two foreign individuals marketing a wide range of products fraudulently claiming to prevent and cure cancer, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today. The FDA also warns North American consumers against using or purchasing the products, which include tablets, teas, tonics, black salves, and creams, and are sold under various names on the Internet. Those companies and individuals warned, the complete list of fake cancer 'cure' products and their manufacturers along with a consumer article on health scams can be found here,
Source: http://www.fda.gov | Source Status "Although promotions of bogus cancer 'cures' have always been a problem, the Internet has provided a mechanism for them to flourish," said Margaret O'K. Glavin, the FDA's associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. "These warning letters are an important step to ensure that consumers do not become the victim of false 'cures' that may cause greater harm to their health." The FDA urges consumers to consult their health care provider about discontinuing use of these products and to seek appropriate medical attention if they have experienced any adverse effects. The products contain ingredients such as bloodroot, shark cartilage, coral calcium, cesium, ellagic acid, Cat's Claw, an herbal tea called Essiac, and mushroom varieties such as Agaricus Blazeii, Shitake, Maitake, and Reishi. Because these products claim to cure, treat, mitigate or prevent disease, and these products have not been shown to be safe and effective for their labeled conditions of use, they are unapproved new drugs marketed in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.»...
Source: http://www.fda.gov | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«A Triumph of Astroturf? How a consumer protection law may be defeated by a faux consumer watchdog campaign by Daniel Loxton Is it possible for a vested business interest to derail national legislation by posing as a consumer watchdog? We'll soon learn whether a shadowy mail order drug company's fierce, artificial grassroots campaign will rob the Canadian people of an important public safety law. In April 2008, Canada's federal Parliament began considering a proposed law1 ...” Bill C-51 ...” that would revise the body of laws regulating food and drugs in Canada (the Food and Drugs Act). Of particular interest to skeptics, C-51 would finally allow Canadian federal health authorities (Health Canada) to enforce existing laws2 that require substances sold under the multi-billion-dollar "natural health products" umbrella to be safe, unadulterated, honestly labeled, and marketed with supportable claims. Although regulated in Canada since 2004, natural health products nevertheless enjoy a hothouse climate of easy licensing, minimal oversight, and toothless enforcement ...” which C-51 is designed to improve. "For instance," Health Canada noted in a recent press release, "in dealing with cases of counterfeit [drugs], Health Canada has been limited to imposing a maximum fine of $5,000."3 Think about that for a moment. The U.S. Federal Drug Administration estimates that "upwards of 10% of drugs worldwide are counterfeit, and in some countries more than 50% of the drug supply is made up of counterfeit drugs."4 Counterfeits may contain any active ingredients in any amount, poison, or no active ingredient at all. Yet, if a Canadian company earns millions selling dime store candies in medicine bottles, Health Canada is powerless to fine them an amount they'd even notice. Bill C-51 would raise the maximum fine to a heftier deterrent of $5,000,000 (more if the offense is "reckless" or "willful").5 Health Canada's limited enforcement powers have created a wild west landscape in which the good, bad, and ugly parts of the supplement industry have all thrived. Not surprisingly, many ...” especially the shadiest operations ...” would like things to stay just as wild as they've been. Amazingly, one supplement company's sly manipulation of public opinion could accomplish just that. The Anti-C51 Campaign»...
Source: http://www.skeptic.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Le Secrétaire d'Etat Eric Besson a donc lancé les Assises de l'Economie Numérique le 29 mai dernier (voir mes précédents posts). Le soir, un coktail était organisé à son Secrétariat d'Etat. J'y étais invité. Je ne suis pas très friand de ce genre de pince-fesses républicains... Mais je me suis dit que j'allais probablement y revoir de vieux potes... Que nenni ! En fait, le Ministre (on m'a dit que l'on donnait ce titre à un Secrétaire d'Etat) avait organisé un diner avec quelques membres de son cabinet et ... une dizaine de bloggeurs, dont ma pomme... J'ai été un peu scotché quand j'ai appris la chose en arrivant rue Saint Dominique... En effet, ce n'est pas (encore ?) dans les habitudes républicaines de recevoir des bloggeurs à diner chez un Ministre...» [...] « 1/ J'ai été ravi de cette journée d'Assises... Elle montre désormais que les esprits sont prêts. Il n'y a pas eu de débats creux, comme il y avait encore quelques mois auparavant, sur le média fibre : n'y aura-t-il pas autre chose de mieux et moins chère bientôt par le satellite ? par le CPL ? etc... Tout le monde maintenant pense que c'est la fibre qu'il faut.. Voilà donc un premier problème évacué. »...
Source: http://billaut.typepad.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Analyse de Lobbying,Analyse des Stratégies d'Influence, Lobbying/Astroturf

«Lobbying by deception and misinformation Leave a comment Tell a friend * Share Close o Delicious Delicious o Digg Digg o Reddit Reddit o Magnoliacom Magnoliacom o Newsvine Newsvine o Furl Furl o Facebook Facebook o Google Google o Yahoo Yahoo o Technorati Technorati o Icerocket Icerocket Print this page Reprint rights By Senator John Marty , Apple Pie Alliance April 03, 2008 Many people are familiar with the phrase "grassroots lobbying." It implies that the public feels strongly about a bill and people contact their elected officials demanding action. Unfortunately, most of what appears to be grassroots/citizen lobbying is orchestrated by well-funded interest groups, using by highly-paid consultants and PR firms. To stimulate this citizen passion, especially when the public might not agree with their real goal, lobbyists work to inflame public sentiment even if it means distorting the truth. This is certainly not true of all lobbyists and interests, but it is far too common among some. This year Minnesota legislators have received countless emails urging us to oppose Senate File 833, which "threatens the affordability and accessibility of (cell phone) services for all of Minnesota's families and businesses." To stimulate public opposition to this, the cell phone industry's ad campaign showed a picture of a frustrated woman looking over a document labeled "State Wireless Taxes and Fees" with a caption: "So why are state legislators threatening to increase the cost of our wireless?".» [...] «The auto industry cannot defeat the bill on its merits so they use fear tactics and misinformation. They have created a website aimed at scaring farmers and soccer moms alike, claiming that the bill would “severely limit the sale of trucks and minivans” so that we could “force the sale of more compact and subcompact cars.” This is simply not true. The polls show that an overwhelming majority of Minnesotans support tougher air quality standards for vehicles. This support would be even stronger if consumers knew that the cleaner cars produce significant savings at the gas pump. In both of these cases, powerful lobbying groups have generated “public” opposition through deception and misinformation, and may well defeat legislation that would have strong public support if the facts were known. This is not a shining example of democracy in action. »...
Source: http://www.tcdailyplanet.net | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Analyse de Lobbying , Tendances, Lobbying/Astroturf

«Government Concludes Vaccines Caused Autism Nixa, MO - It was announced that the US Court of Federal Claims and the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program ruled in favor of a child who regressed into autism as a result of vaccinations, several of which contained the mercury-based preservative thimerosal. Case documents state that the vaccines administered to the claimant significantly aggravated an underlying condition that ultimately led to regressive encephalopathy and symptoms of autism. According to official court documents, the child was developing normally until given the vaccines, and shortly after the shots, regressed into full autism. The child was diagnosed by nationally recognized autism medical specialists. For more than a decade, thousands of parents have come forward with reports of sharp regression in their children following immunizations. The cases of autism have dramatically spiked in the past 15 years to as many as 1 in 150 children, making it the leading childhood developmental disorder today. The National Autism Association (NAA) sees the ruling as confirmation of what so many parents have been saying for years. "This case echoes the stories of thousands of children across the country. With almost 5,000 similar cases pending in vaccine court, we are confident that this is just the first of many that will confirm what we have believed for so long, vaccines can and do cause children to regress into autism," says Wendy Fournier, parent and president of NAA. "We call on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to acknowledge that the current vaccine schedule is not safe for every child and as with the administration of any medicine, individual risks and susceptibilities must be considered for each patient." While thimerosal has been phased out of many pediatric vaccines, it is still used in flu shots recommended for pregnant women and children. At a meeting of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices held yesterday at the CDC, the committee voted to recommend annual flu shots for all children up to the age of 18, and to date has refused to state a preference for mercury-free vaccines. To learn more about autism, please visit www.nationalautism.org. - 30 - For additional information and court document details, read David Kirby's recent entry on Huffington Post.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com | Source Status
Source: http://www.nationalautismassociation.org | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«After years of insisting there is no evidence to link vaccines with the onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the US government has quietly conceded a vaccine-autism case in the Court of Federal Claims. The unprecedented concession was filed on November 9, and sealed to protect the plaintiff's identify. It was obtained through individuals unrelated to the case. The claim, one of 4,900 autism cases currently pending in Federal "Vaccine Court," was conceded by US Assistant Attorney General Peter Keisler and other Justice Department officials, on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services, the "defendant" in all Vaccine Court cases. The child's claim against the government -- that mercury-containing vaccines were the cause of her autism -- was supposed to be one of three "test cases" for the thimerosal-autism theory currently under consideration by a three-member panel of Special Masters, the presiding justices in Federal Claims Court.»...
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«UNI profs probe link between mercury and autism By JENS MANUEL KROGSTAD, Courier Staff Writer CEDAR FALLS ...” A research article published by a pair of University of Northern Iowa professors concludes the link between mercury and autism can't be ruled out and needs further study. The results don't prove mercury exposure causes autism, a developmental disability that can affect language and social skills. Autism's prevalence has burgeoned in the last two decades, and is estimated to affect one in 150 children in the country. The article drew both quick rebukes and enthusiastic praise from those debating the link between mercury in vaccines and autism. But Catherine DeSoto and Robert Hitlan, both psychology professors, said their work doesn't directly address the controversial issue because mercury exposure can occur in more than one way.»...
Source: http://www.wcfcourier.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Intégrité. Avec un marché français estimé à 9 millions d'internautes qui consultent des blogs en France, les marques sont pressées d'intégrer ces communautés pour influencer les consommateurs. Devenus de vrais médias, « les blogueurs influenceurs se substituent de plus en plus aux journalistes en rédigeant des articles, en assistant à des événements ou conférences de presse, en testant des produits. Aujourd'hui, ils gagnent plusieurs milliers d'euros avec leur activité », raconte Arthur Kannas, cofondateur de l'agence Heaven, agence conseil en marketing on line. Pris dans les mailles du filet, l'agence qui lance des blogs pour le compte de ses clients et a été prise en défaut de transparence par ses blogueuses en décembre dernier. Elle a donc décidé de professionnaliser le marché pour « éviter que l'opinion soit pervertie » en rédigeant une charte de bonne conduite à l'intention des blogueurs.»...
Source: http://www.lesechos.fr | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«The notion that the MMR vaccine can trigger autism should have ceased to be news long before this week's widely reported study that shows it to be unfounded. From a scientific point of view, the hypothesis has never had much going for it. The Andrew Wakefield paper that started the scare, published in The Lancet in 1998, reported only the anecdotal suspicions of a few parents who thought their children's autism started when they were given MMR. It had no controls, it presented no evidence, and it has been so thoroughly discredited that the journal's editor admits he should not have run it. Wakefield and two colleagues are now defending allegations of serious professional misconduct from the General Medical Council.» [...] «Several junk medicine columns have discussed MMR over the past few years. It would be nice to think this will be the last one. Every ounce of evidence that has been assembled on the issue, now covering every possible approach, has reached the same conclusion: the vaccine does not cause autism. It is surely time for those who have claimed otherwise to apologise to the thousands of parents whose children have missed out on important health protection as a result.Mark Henderson is Science Editor of The Times »...
Source: http://women.timesonline.co.uk | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«by Bret Fausett at 09:23AM (PST) on February 4, 2008 | Permanent Link | Cosmos | Digg This This has to be the low point of ICANN PR. Add your email address, check the box, and ICANN will send an email singing its praises to the NTIA on your behalf.»...
Source: http://blog.lextext.com | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«Ten years ago, in 1998, Andrew Wakefield and 12 others published a paper that suggested that a vaccine called the MMR (measles mumps and rubella) had a link with a new condition they described as giving kids bowel problems and autism. The UK media went crazy, falling over themselves to report on the MMR vaccine causing autism. There was a televised news conference with Wakefield and a video news release set up by the hospital Wakefield worked at. What wasn't widely reported was that this wasn't the first vaccine related paper Wakefield had written. In 1995 he co-authored a paper saying that there was a possible link between bowel diseases such as Crohn's and vaccines. In the UK, confidence in the vaccines collapsed. Between the years 97/98 to 2004/05 MMR uptake dropped by 10%. Wakefield's hypothesis was that the MMR was injected into a child. It then went to their gut and gave them gastric problems - a Crohn's like condition he called "autistic enterocolitis" - after that it kept traveling to their brain where it caused or triggered autism.» [...] «In ‘97, a journalist called Brian Deer found out that Andrew Wakefield had filed a patent application.This application was for a rival vaccine that would replace MMR. If MMR could be framed as a bad guy then the NHS (and maybe the world’s health services) would drop MMR and this new vaccine could step in. As the patent holder for this new vaccine, Wakefield would get very, very rich.In Part II we’ll look at how Wakefield further manipulated the science to encourage positive results for himself. »...
Source: http://brainblogger.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Studies involving genetic mutations related to autism, plus the results of removing the compound thimerosal from children's vaccines, will be among topics addressed Sunday by investigative journalist David Kirby. Kirby, author of the 2005 book "Evidence of Harm," will be at the 6 p.m. screening of "Finding the Words" at the Ridgefield Playhouse. "Finding the Words" is a documentary about eight children recovering from autism. Kirby's book, a New York Times bestseller, raises questions about autism's causes. One suspected cause has been thimerosal, which contains mercury. "Evidence of Harm" explores what many have called an "epidemic" of autism-afflicted children. Kirby traced the struggle of several families to understand how and why their once-healthy kids rapidly descended into silence or disturbed behavior, often accompanied by severe physical illness. In a phone interview earlier this week, Kirby said there are flaws in a new California study that suggests mercury in vaccines is unrelated to autism.»...
Source: http://www.newstimes.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Learn how to use a very powerful online marketing strategy with virtually no expenses involved. But you have to be very careful! In an era of the all-pervasive Internet in which novel and innovative marketing theories and concepts are giving tradition a run for their money, the concept of astroturf marketing is slowly but surely becoming the order of the day. If used correctly, astroturf marketing can propel your site visitor count exponentially in a matter of weeks. But then, beware of pitfalls! Astroturf marketing can, and has misfired and got many into serious trouble. What on Earth is Astroturf Marketing It is believed that the concept of astroturf marketing was coined by US Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas to refer to situations in which people with no political agenda present grassroots perspectives on major issues. Simply put, astroturf marketing is the notion of promoting your product or service in forums designed for discussion and not for advertising where the promotional message is projected in a context that is in no way related to promotion. What makes astroturf marketing so attractive for many is its high-impact character and negligible cost. The platform in which astroturf marketing is leveraged usually involves audiences that do not expect any advertising to take place. More often than not, any form of advertising is strictly prohibited on these platforms and there are strict penalties for violators.»...
Source: http://inertz.org | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«Aides and staffers of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney are listed among the principals of a new Astroturf group set up last fall to deny the science of global warming. The new group advertises itself as the American Environmental Coalition - "working to keep America beautiful, strong and prosperous." But the sole focus of its expensive website is to question the science of climate change. As for its outreach activities, the AEC seems intent only on attacking Romney's presidential competitor John McCain, the Republican candidate with the best record on responding to climate change. The AEC site was registered by Gary Marx , executive director of the Judicial Confirmation Network and Mitt Romeny's Conservative Coalitions Director. Jay Sekulow, the co-chair of Mitt Romney's Faith and Values Coalition, is also listed among the AEC's members, a who's who of conservative Christians and oily advocates for the fossil fuel industry. Take, for example, AEC co-chair George Landrith, whose Frontiers for Freedom survives on funding from such environmental stalwarts as ExxonMobil, Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. The list also includes the likes of coal-blackened Pat Michaels and the tobacco and oil advocate-for-hire Steve Milloy.»...
Source: http://www.desmogblog.com | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«At the behest of several followers on Twitter (follow me here), here's a primer on Wikipedia astroturf and reputation management. Wikipedia entries are generated by readers who post entries on topics they care about or edit entries with or in need of more information. The power of Wikipedia cannot be underestimated. The site is currently the number 9 most visited site in the world according to Alexa, and is always a perennial Google search favorite. Wikipedia has very clear guidelines on submitting articles and editing, including the following: Articles and other encyclopedic content must be written from a neutral point of view (NPOV), representing fairly and, as much as possible, without bias all significant views (that have been published by r eliable sources). That means companies, campaigners, PR firms and other hired guns cannot edit themselves (or clients) or add their own entries. To do so is considered Astroturfing. Most notably, Microsoft got busted astroturfing on an open-source entry, prompting a public outcry against the ethics violation.»...
Source: http://nowisgone.com | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«Les mouvements de grève gagnent Internet. Le site Ladiesroom.fr, qui se qualifie de "premier magazine féminin à lire et à écrire", vient d'en faire l'expérience. Il a été confronté à une "grève des avatars". Des femmes contribuant régulièrement au site par l'envoi d'articles ou de chroniques consacrés à la mode, au couple, à la famille, etc., ont décidé de laisser au repos clavier et souris. Et pour que les familières du site soient au courant de leur mouvement de protestation, elles ont décidé de "déshabiller leur avatar", la petite figure stylisée que chacune peut utiliser comme une signature. Ne reste alors que la silhouette noire qui s'affiche sur la porte des toilettes pour femmes, d'où le nom de Ladiesroom. Raison de cette rébellion ? Une collaboratrice du site, plus curieuse que les autres, s'est interrogée sur l'instigateur du projet. Elle a découvert qu'il s'agissait d'une agence de communication, en l'occurrence la société Heaven. Or, dans la rubrique "A propos de Ladiesroom", espace consacré à la présentation du "qui fait quoi" d'un site, il n'en était pas fait mention. Ce manque de transparence a choqué d'autres contributrices. Elles se sont jointes à cette protestation qui a débouché sur une grève.»...
Source: http://www.lemonde.fr | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«Avant de regarder Envoyé Spécial sur France 2 ce Jeudi 13 décembre 2007, vous aviez peut être déjà conscience de manger "de la merde" comme dirait Jean-Pierre KOFFE. Mais pensiez-vous que des aliments industriels puissent contenir des ingrédients potentiellement nocifs pour la santé? En cause, les acides gras trans artificiels que l'on retrouve dans de nombreux produits des rayons de nos supermarchés, comme les gâteaux Papi Brossard de notre enfance. Le risque est connu. Aux Etats-Unis les acides gras trans articifiels sont déjà interdits dans les 24000 restaurants de New York. Mais ailleurs, qu'attend on pour réagir? Bien sur nous sommes libre de ne manger que des fruits et légumes achetés de bon matin sur le marché. Ces magnifiques produits traités et retraités aux pesticides. Car oui manger 5 fruits et légumes par jour pourrait aussi être dangereux pour la santé quand les produits consommés sont encore recouverts de produits chimiques. Le manque de transparence de nombreux acteurs industriels n'aide pas à nous rassurer. Prenons un exemple parmi d'autre: le site Internet Tracenews.info est présenté comme un "un portail d'information et de veille consacré à la traçabilité. Un pool d'experts et de journalistes collaborent à la mise en ligne d'informations relatives à la traçabilité de l'ensemble de la chaine (industriels, prestataires et distributeurs)". Les mentions légales du site ne nous en apprennent pas plus sur les éditeurs du site. Tout juste trouvons nous le nom d'une agence de communication Internet "Igroup, 33 Avenue des Champs Elysées - 75008 Paris".»...
Source: http://www.knowckers.org | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«Il y a quelques semaines au téléphone une attachée de presse que j'apprécie m'a demandé en toute ingénuité comment il convenait de « générer un buzz sur Internet » pour l'un de ses clients spécialisé dans la vente de produits high tech. Cette attachée de presse rompue aux relations avec les journalistes traditionnels ne connait pas très bien les us et coutumes de la blogosphère ni des forums. Elle me demanda donc de lui donner des conseils pour alimenter un blog fictif créé pour l'occasion. Je lui fis part de mes plus grandes réserves et essaya de lui expliquer que ce type de pratique était au mieux une perte de temps et au pire contre productif. Cette anecdote m'a - entre autres - conduit à m'intéresser au rôle sur Internet que pouvaient jouer les intermédiaires de la communication que sont par exemple les agences de pub et de marketing. Si malgré tout la création de faux sites est infinitésimale, c'est probablement en raison des risques encourus et/ou des scrupules moraux ressentis par une partie des communicants. Néanmoins, le coeur d'activité de ses sociétés qui est la communication d'influence ne peut évidemment faire l'impasse sur les relais d'opinions que semblent être les échanges d'informations entre internautes et le référencement des billets sur les principaux moteurs. Un rapide tour d'horizon sur les sites de quelque uns de ces intermédiaires permet de vérifier que le débat sur le rôle de ces acteurs mérite sans doute d'être posé. Et la question n'est pas celle de l'astroturf lobbying au sens strict mais plutôt de savoir à quelles actions de communications correspondent certaines missions d'agence visant en particulier à « orchestrer un buzz » ou alimenter un bouche à oreille sur Internet.»...
Source: http://vigie-astroturf.blogspot.com | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«DISPONIBILITE IPHONE ORANGE FRANCE, PENURIE ? Les forfaits iPhone Orange sont maintenant connus mais subsiste un problème, la disponibilité des téléphones portables Apple iPhone. En effet devant le succès du mobile d'Apple on peut se demander si les différents pays européens comme la France, la Belgique, l'Allemagne, la Suisse, et l'Angleterre, disposeront de suffisamment d'appareils iPhone pour les fêtes de Noel. Car il semble que Orange France ne dispose que d'environ 20000 iPhone pour le début du lancement du téléphone portable, alors que T-Mobile en Allemagne en a vendu 10000 dès le premier jour de vente. Les trois points de vente qui disposent du plus grand nombre de téléphones portables Apple iPhone disponibles à la vente sont la boutique Orange de Paris aux Champs Elysées, la boutique Orange de Lyon Cordeliers, et la boutique Orange de Marseille Orange Center rue Paradis.» [...] «Publié par JOHNDEFAMATION à l'adresse 23:22 »...
Source: http://aide-iphone-faq.blogspot.com | Source Status Categories: Tendances,Lobbying/Astroturf

«A new research study warns that the Internet could stagger under the weight of the digital media clogging its pipes. The study, conducted by Nemertes Research and distributed by the not-for-profit Internet Innovation Alliance, suggests that consumer and corporate Internet usage could outstrip network capacity both in North America and worldwide in a little more than two years. "This groundbreaking analysis identifies a critical issue facing the Internet -- that we must take the necessary steps to build out network capacity or potentially face Internet gridlock that could wreak havoc on Internet services," Alliance co-chairman Larry Irving said in a statement. "The Nemertes study is evidence the 'exaflood' is coming." The term 'Exaflood' was coined by Bret Swanson, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and contributing editor at the Gilder Technology Report, in a January 2007 article for the Wall Street Journal.» [...] « "There's always an issue when a research group receives funding from phone companies and then creates research that's very much in line with their strategic and policy objectives," Karr told InternetNews.com.SaveTheInternet.com founding members include Craig Newmark of craigslist; Gun Owners of America; Stanford Law Professor Lawrence Lessig; and the Free Press, an organization that advocates in policymaking about media. According to Karr, its financial backers include the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Institute.In a response to a blog post by Karr criticizing the Nemertes research, the research group disputed the suggestion that the research may have been skewed by its clients.According to a fact sheet on the study provided by Nemertes, "Our model is that we have a base of clients who subscribe to our research and advisory services. Our clients include users, makers of, and investors in, technology." IIA representatives declined to comment on whether the organizati! on had funded the study directly. »...
Source: http://itmanagement.earthweb.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Haut Débit

«Of all the doctors you'll consult, there's only one on call 24/7, who doesn't take time off to play golf; knows every diagnosis, test and drug; and never keeps you waiting leafing through magazines: Dr. Google. According to the Pew Research Center, 8 million people a day go online looking for health information. More than two-thirds start by typing their medical question into a search engine such as Google. In milliseconds, they'll be prescribed millions of Web sites. But user beware. Finding quality is different story. For example, Google "autism," and out of the 6.5 million sites, the top two (excluding advertisers) are Wikipedia and Autism.org. While Wikipedia is rich in content, it's been criticized for lack of expert oversight, and there are many stories of groups who alter its content to promote themselves. Autism.org is an example of a "scraper page." Sites like this are designed by search optimizers, who know that most of us don't look beyond our first few hits. Optimizers take advantage of this by employing tools and tricks to move sites to the top of the list. Click on Autism.org and you'll connect to a scraper page full of links to groups that have all kinds of unproven theories about what causes autism. Where does that leave us when we go looking for health care information online? Like all other things related to your health, somewhere between you and your doctor's office. Unfortunately, studies show that many physicians are weary of the Web, even though patients really want their guidance about it.»...
Source: http://www.sfgate.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Alors que l'offensive médiatique et publicitaire pour justifier l'implication du Canada dans les guerres impérialistes en Afghanistan et en Irak se poursuit, quantité de véhicules SUV se sont mis à afficher des rubans magnétiques au motif « camouflage », semblables à ceux associé à la cause du VIH/SIDA , mais ornés d'un message beaucoup moins humaniste : « Support our troops ». Témoignage de solidarité ou vaste campagne de manipulation publique? Eric Martin Dès le début de la contestation contre la participation canadienne en Afghanistan, le premier ministre Harper cherche à neutraliser la critique en assimilant tout questionnement sur la légitimité du néo-militarisme conservateur à un geste anti-patriotique et immoral vis-à-vis de « NOS troupes » héroiques (à prononcer à la manière de Radio-Canada).»...
Source: http://cap.qc.ca.edu | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«Ces pros qui surveillent les critiques sur... Certaines entreprises s'inquiètent de ce que l'on peut dire d'elles ou de leurs produits. Elles ont donc..»...
Source: http://videos.tf1.fr | Source Status Categories: Tendances,Lobbying/Astroturf

«Nothing beats word of mouth for getting people to put their hand in their pockets. So it didn't take long for cheeky marketing departments to cotton on to the power of blogs and pose as consumers praising their own particular widget to the skies to help lift their top line. Sneaky, perhaps, but usually legal. Not for much longer, however, as covert commercial blogging - or flogging - will soon be banned by Brussels. Under laws due to come into force at the beginning of next year, but likely to be delayed until April for the UK, companies posing as consumers on fake blogs, providing fake testimonies on consumer rating websites such as TripAdvisor, or writing fake book reviews on Amazon risk criminal or civil liability. The new rules are the result of the EU's Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, which is designed to do exactly what it says on the tin. Not only will it impose a general ban on unfair practices, but it will also include two main categories of unfair commercial practice: misleading practices and aggressive practices. Whether a commercial practice is unfair will be assessed in light of the effect it has, or is likely to have, on the average consumer's decision to buy. The directive catches all commercial organisations - big or small - and the upshot is that companies (including sole traders) will no longer be able to pay individual bloggers or professional agencies to post false or misleading blogs or reviews online. Nor will they be able to do it themselves.»...
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«Alternative treatments for autism - some of them potentially deadly - are growing more pervasive and run the gamut from dietary supplements to prescribing a potentially dangerous diabetes drug, which now carries the government's most stringent warning. "What this all boils down to is that people are very motivated to help their children. They're desperate and there are people out there who are preying on their desperation," said James Mulick, a professor of pediatrics and psychology at Ohio State University. Autism is an incurable neurodevelopmental disorder usually diagnosed in early childhood and marked by language and communication deficits and withdrawal from social contact. Mulick cited diets, such as those in which the wheat protein gluten is eliminated, to the use of vitamin supplements as some of the harmless but he believes ineffective treatments sought by parents of autistic children.»...
Source: http://www.newsday.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«As Autism Diagnoses Grow, So Do Number Of Fad Treatments Ineffective or even dangerous fad treatments for autism, always a problem, seem to be growing more pervasive, according to researchers who studied the problem. "Developmental disabilities like autism are a magnet for all kinds of unsupported or disproved therapies, and it has gotten worse as more children have been diagnosed with autism," said James Mulick, professor of pediatrics and psychology at Ohio State University." "There's no cure for autism, and many parents are willing to believe anything if they come to think it could help their child." Mulick chaired a symposium on "Outrageous Developmental Disabilities Treatments" Aug. 20 in San Francisco at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association. The symposium included presentations by several of Mulick's students at Ohio State who participated in a graduate seminar on fad treatments in autism.»...
Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«INVASIVE medical procedures carried out by Royal Free doctors on young children were unnecessary and unethical, an inquiry has heard. Dr Andrew Wakefield subjected a four-year-old boy to a colonoscopy, MRI scan and a lumbar puncture - otherwise known as a spinal tap - during his controversial research into the measles mumps and rubella (MMR) jab. It is claimed Dr Wakefield used the results to link the jab with autism in a 1998 study carried out at the Royal Free medical school. The General Medical Council (GMC) claims he had no ethical approval because he only had permission to test children given either the measles or measles/rubella jab but not the MMR jab. Any children used for the study also needed to show symptoms of a degenerative disorder, and signs of intestinal disease or dysfunction. But Sally Smith QC, acting for the GMC, said one four-year-old boy, had no such problems. She told the panel: "This child was entered into a research project without ethics committee approval."»...
Source: http://www.hamhigh.co.uk | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«While his younger sister attended camp this summer, Daniel Safian stayed home in Huntington Station with his mother. His sister can play and socialize with other children. Daniel, 7, lives in a different world. advertisement One day last month, Daniel wore a blue T-shirt with "Beautiful Daniel" printed across the chest, but he cannot read those words. As a child with autism, Daniel needs cues from an audio interactive machine to get dressed. And his mother, Rita Jones-Safian, said if Daniel goes three days without his tutoring, he loses hard-won skills like toilet training. As a baby, Daniel waved and played peek-a-boo. Developing normally, his mother said, he began to speak. Then his health declined, she said, after routine vaccinations when he was 18 months old. Daniel ran a high fever and became lethargic. He stopped responding to his name. When a specialist diagnosed autism a month later, Jones-Safian pointed to what she said was the most likely culprit -- a cocktail of vaccines that included the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination, as well as three injections called IPV, DPT and Prevnar, which protect against diseases including polio. "I still feel guilty," Jones-Safian said. "Maybe if I didn't vaccinate my son, he would have been healthy." The Safian family is among 4,800 others nationwide with autistic children whose disabilities they believe were caused by vaccines, something the scientific community has largely rejected. But these families are seeking an answer to the mystery of their children's autism, and compensation, from a little known "vaccine court" in Washington, D.C.»...
Source: http://www.amny.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«On 8 July, The Observer published a news report under the headline 'New health fears over big surge in autism'. The article revealed details of an unpublished report by the Autism Research Centre (ARC) at Cambridge University which showed that a statistical analysis of autism prevalence among primary schoolchildren in Cambridgeshire had produced a figure that as many as 1 in 58 children could be suffering from forms of the disorder. This figure is nearly double the presently accepted prevalence of autism of 1 in 100.»...
Source: http://observer.guardian.co.uk | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Whatever you think about Andrew Wakefield, the real villains of the MMR scandal are the media. Ben Goldacre Wednesday July 18, 2007 The Guardian Whatever you think about Andrew Wakefield, the real villains of the MMR scandal are the media. Just one week before his GMC hearing, yet another factless "MMR causes autism" news story appeared: and even though it ran on the front page of our very own Observer, I am dismantling it on this page. We're all grown-ups around here. The story made three key points: that new research has found an increase in the prevalence of autism to one in 58; that the lead academic on this study was so concerned he suggested raising the finding with public heath officials; and that two "leading researchers" on the team believe that the rise was due to MMR. Within a week the story had been recycled in several national newspapers, and the news pages of at least one academic journal. But where did the facts come from? I contacted the Autism Research Centre in Cambridge: the study the Observer reported is not finished, and not published. The data has been collected, but it has not been analysed. Unpublished data is the antithesis of what science is about: transparency, where anyone can appraise the methods, and the results, and draw their own conclusions.» [...] « Carol Stott works in Dr Andrew Wakefield's private autism clinic in America, which the Observer failed to mention, and she was also an adviser to the legal team which failed in seeking compensation for parents who believed that MMR caused their child's autism, which the Observer failed to mention. She was paid £100,000 of public money for her services. She says her objectivity was not affected by the sum, but even so this seems an astonishing pair of facts for the Observer to leave out. »...
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Andrew Wakefield's status as doctor is under review. Daniel Cressey Researchers who have studied MMR are up for review as doctors. TEK IMAGE / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine plummeted in Britain after doctor and researcher Andrew Wakefield suggested in 1998 that it could be linked to autism ...” a suggestion that made huge waves in the media and with the public. Subsequent studies have ruled out a link between MMR and autism, and the majority of medical opinion now firmly rejects Wakefield's hypothesis. This week, Wakefield stands before a hearing at the General Medical Council (GMC) ...” the body that regulates doctors in the United Kingdom. Who is being charged with what? The GMC panel is looking into allegations of serious professional misconduct against Wakefield and two colleagues, John Walker-Smith and Simon Murch. Reading of the full charges against them on Monday, at the start of the hearing, took more than an hour.»...
Source: http://www.nature.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«LONDON - The doctor behind a controversial study linking a common children's vaccine to autism went before an investigative panel Monday probing misconduct allegations, including whether he took blood samples from children at a birthday party. Britain's General Medical Council is examining claims that Dr. Andrew Wakefield failed to disclose his links to autism litigators and conducted the study without proper ethical approval. Wakefield denies any misconduct. Wakefield's study suggested that the combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is administered throughout the world, could put children at risk of autism or bowel disease. The finding published in The Lancet medical journal in 1998, and the subsequent media coverage, led many parents to refuse to vaccinate their children. But the study was soon discredited, and 10 of its 13 authors have since renounced its conclusions. The Lancet also said it should not have published the study, saying Wakefield's links to litigation against the manufacturers of the MMR vaccine were a "fatal conflict of interest." In addition to Wakefield, two other authors of the paper - John Walker-Smith and Simon Murch - are being investigated by the medical council.»...
Source: http://www.forbes.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«The doctor who first sparked safety fears over the MMR vaccine was accused yesterday of acting dishonestly and unethically in compiling his research. Dr Andrew Wakefield with his wife Carmel: MMR panic doctor 'was dishonest in research' Dr Andrew Wakefield outside the GMC hearing with his wife Carmel and his supporters chanting for him to be cleared Dr Andrew Wakefield and his co-authors face allegations of serious professional misconduct over the way they researched a link between autism and the measles, mumps and rubella jab. The study was later published in The Lancet and public confidence in the triple jab plummeted. At the opening of their hearing at the General Medical Council (GMC) in London yesterday, the panel heard how Dr Wakefield allegedly paid children £5 to take their blood at his son's fifth birthday party. He later joked about taking the samples. He told the Mind Institute in California that he intended to do it again. It was alleged that he showed "callous disregard for the distress and pain" he knew or ought to have known the children might suffer as a result of his actions.»...
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«The doctor who first suggested a link between the MMR vaccine and autism is facing charges of serious professional misconduct. Here we look at a timeline of how the MMR row developed: February 1998 A study led by Dr Andrew Wakefield, from London's Royal Free Hospital, suggests the MMR vaccine might be linked to an increased risk of autism and bowel disorders in children. March 1998 A panel of experts convened by the Medical Research Council on Government orders says there is "no evidence" of a link between the MMR jab and bowel disease or autism. A total of 37 researchers reviewed the available evidence and said there was no reason to change the current MMR vaccination policy. The panel comprised experts in virology, epidemiology, gastroenterology, immunology, paediatrics, autism, and child psychiatry. April 1998 A long-term study from Finland, published in The Lancet, finds no evidence of autism being associated with MMR. Of three million children given the combined jab, 31 youngsters were found to have developed gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting within 15 days of the injection. But their symptoms generally lasted no more than a week. None of the 31 children developed any signs of autism or any similar condition, the researchers said. June 1999 Two studies published in The Lancet conclude there is no link between MMR jabs and autism. One of the papers is a study on almost 500 children with autism in the North Thames health region. The research found no difference in the frequency of autism between those who had been immunised and those who had not. April 2000 Dr Wakefield and Professor John O'Leary, a director of pathology at Coombe Women's Hospital in Dublin, tell the US Congress there is "compelling evidence" of a link between autism and MMR.»...
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«A first word book for babies lies open on a table in Jackie and John Fletcher's living room. Each page is devoted to one single-syllable word. Robert, their 15-year-old son, sits quietly, gazing at the simple, colourful pictures. He cannot read or say the words, but studies the images intently, just as he did when he was 13 months old, before his development was halted. A month after his first birthday, Robert had a devastating epileptic fit. Dismissed initially as a febrile convulsion common in young children, it turned out to be the first of thousands of fits, damaging Robert's brain. His ill health has dominated his parents' lives. Scroll down for more... Fighting for justice: Jackie Fletcher and her son Robert, who developed autism after being given the MMR jab as a toddler The change in their bright, loving toddler was sudden. Ten days before his first fit, Robert had been vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). Unlike his two older brothers, who had been given the jabs in single doses, Robert had been injected with three viruses at once.» [...] «Dr Wakefield's work itself has been discredited. Next week, he will appear before a disciplinary hearing at the General Medical Council to answer a number of charges, including publishing "inadequately founded" research. The Department of Health says the fact that some children who had the MMR jab subsequently became ill is a coincidence, with experts pointing out that children receive their MMR at an age many illnesses are first manifested. Meanwhile, Jackie and others who questioned the safety of the triple vaccine have been accused of scaremongering and putting children's health at risk. Whatever the criticisms, the campaign clearly struck a chord. The take-up rate of the MMR vaccine dropped from 92per cent in 1995 to 1996, to below 80per cent in the late 1990s - in some parts of London it was as low as 61per cent. »...
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«At the recent 12-day hearing into theories that vaccines cause autism, the link between the disorder and the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine came across as shaky at best. As for the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal, which was used in other vaccines, witnesses showed that in all known cases of actual mercury poisoning (none of which caused autism), the dose was hundreds or thousands of times higher than what kids got during the 1990s. Powerful population studies showed no link to either MMR or thimerosal-containing shots. None of that moves Mary Wildman, 47, whose son's case is before the court and who drove from her home near Pittsburgh to watch the hearing, which ended this week. "I know what happened to my son after he got his MMR shot," she told me. "I have no doubt. There's no way they'll convince me that all these kids were not damaged by vaccines." It is difficult to challenge a mother's knowledge of her own child. And also to fight off the staying power of the vaccines-cause-autism theory and other such notions that verge on the irrational. People who study irrational beliefs have a variety of ways of explaining why we cling to them. In rational choice theory, what appear to be crazy choices are actually rational, in that they maximize an individual's benefit...”or at least make him or her feel good.»...
Source: http://www.slate.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Symptoms of mental retardation and autism have been reversed for the first time in laboratory mice. US scientists created mice that showed symptoms of Fragile X Syndrome - a leading cause of mental retardation and autism in humans. They then reversed symptoms of the condition by inhibiting the action of an enzyme in the brain. The study, by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This implies that future treatment may still be effective even after symptoms are already pronounced Dr Susumu Tonegawa Fragile X Syndrome is linked to mutation in a gene carried on the X chromosome called FMR1. It can cause symptoms ranging from mild learning disabilities to severe autism. The researchers, based at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, targeted an enzyme called PAK which affects the number, size and shape of connection between brain cells. They found that inhibiting the enzyme stopped mice with Fragile X Syndrome behaving in erratic ways.»...
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Despite experts and health organizations refuting the theory of a connection between vaccines and autism, recent events have brought the debate front and center in the news once again. But are the media actually doing a disservice to the public by continuing to bring up vaccines when discussing autism? "Do I think they've done a disservice? Yes," said Dr. Gregory Poland, director of the Vaccine Research Group at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "I think any concern should be heard, and anything that's plausible should be investigated. But once we get to that point and scientists think it's no longer a valid hypothesis, we shouldn't continue to propagate it." Representatives from the National Autism Association agree that the media has been misinforming the public, but for different reasons. "A lot of news reports are saying that thimerosal has been completely removed from all vaccines, which is not true, so we've been very disappointed in how the media is covering this story," said Wendy Fournier, president of the group. Fournier said parents should be completely informed before deciding whether or not to vaccinate their children, and should use information from the FDA and other sources to make that choice. Promoting Vaccination Fears?»...
Source: http://www.abcnews.go.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Procès vaccinal retentissant aux Etats-Unis L'autisme touche aujourd'hui un enfant sur 150 aux Etats-Unis et bien que les scientifiques mandatés par les laboratoires aient soutenu qu'il n'y avait aucun lien avec les vaccins pédiatriques, trois juges ont été saisi de 5.000 plaintes de familles. la justice traitera les 5.000 plaintes ensemble dans un gigantesque procès où des dizaines d'experts débattront pendant des mois des liens suceptibles d'être mis en évidence entre intoxication mercurielle et le thimerosal contenu dans les vaccins jusqu'en 1999. Certains vaccins pédiatriques sont obligatoires aux Etats-Unis pour la scolarisation des enfants, sauf dérogation admise pour les objecteurs de conscience, et s'il existe un lien reconnu, même ténu, les juges condamneront l'Etat fédéral à verser une pension d'invalidité à la prise en charge des soins nécessaires à ces enfants. Cependant, si aux Etats-Unis, les association constituées pour la défense d'un intérêt collectif, notamment la protection de la santé, la défense des consommateurs ou de la famille sont recevables à agir pour une action groupée destinée à la défense des droits des victimes, en France il en va tout autrement. Un projet de loi récent, soumis au Parlement, inspiré du modèle américain et adapté au droit français, visant à mieux préserver les intérêts des concitoyens, fut tout bonnement abandonné sous la pression de groupes industriels et commerciaux. Quand à la clause de conscience admise pour les objecteurs de conscience dans des pays occidentaux, la France n'en est qu'aux balbutiements.»...
Source: http://www.agoravox.fr | Source Status Categories: Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Sujet debattu et controverse s'il en est! D'un cote, des laboratoires pharmaceutiques qui realisent, sur la vente de vaccins, de colossaux chiffres d'affaires et ne veulent donc pas perdre ce marche, marche que les obligations vaccinales decretees par le gouvernement rendent captif. De l'autre cote, des militants qui s'inquietent du nombre d'accidents post-vaccinaux, s'appuyant sur des publications de plus en plus nombreuses recensant le nombre et la gravite de ces accidents. N'y aurait-il pas moyen de trouver un terrain d'entente? Est-ce utopique de rever, d'un cote, a des vaccins moins dangereux et, de l'autre, au respect du droit de chacun a disposer de son propre corps? De nombreux exemples montrent que la vaccination peut entrainer des effets secondaires graves a court, moyen et long terme, voire meme etre letale. D'ou une crainte bien comprehensible repandue dans l'opinion, qui incite bien des parents a se montrer reticents pour faire vacciner leurs enfants. Par exemple, l'incidence des allergies, qui refletent des dysfonctionnements du systeme immunitaire, a augmente massivement depuis quelques decennies et affecte un quart des enfants en bas age, sans qu'il soit prouve que les vaccinations en soient responsables.»...
Source: http://www.agoravox.fr | Source Status Categories: Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Key Facts: Current research suggests no link between sutism and vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal. Public health experts say skipping necessary shots could expose kids to preventable diseases. Autism rates continue to climb in the U.S., leading some parents and doctors to believe autism and vaccines are linked. A federal court begins hearings today on the more than 4,800 claims by parents of autistic children that the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal, present in certain routine vaccinations, led to their children's disorders. It is the day that many of these families have pushed for since 1999. American Academy of Pediatrics Concerns about thimerosal's possible link to autism have gained publicity in recent years as the occurrence of autism in children has climbed steadily in the United States. Doctors have struggled to find a clinical reason for the increase. Because vaccinations are mandatory for all children at a certain age, some parents and doctors believe the vaccines indicate a common link that cannot be ignored. However, current research weighs heavily against the premise of a thimerosal-autism link, as thus far a number of large scientific studies have shown no association between the two.»...
Source: http://www.abcnews.go.com | Source Status Categories: Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Fight Over Vaccine-Autism Link Hits Court Families, After Having Claims Rejected by Experts, Face Lower Burden of Proof By Shankar Vedantam Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, June 10, 2007; Page A06 For more than a decade, families across the country have been warring with the medical establishment over their claims that routine childhood vaccines are responsible for the nation's apparent epidemic of autism. In an extraordinary proceeding that begins tomorrow, the battle will move from the ivory tower to the courts. Nearly 5,000 families will seek to convince a special "vaccine court" in Washington that the vaccines can cause healthy and outgoing children to withdraw into uncommunicative, autistic shells -- even though a large body of evidence and expert opinion has found no link. The court has never heard a case of such magnitude.» [...] « Experts for the government will argue that a range of epidemiological studies found no link between vaccines and autism, as the prestigious Institute of Medicine concluded in a 2004 report. The institute, part of the National Academies that was chartered by Congress to advise the government and the public on matters of science, dismissed the vaccine-autism theory, which is mostly based on biochemistry studies on the toxic effects of mercury. »...
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com | Source Status Categories: Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Une équipe de l'Institut Pasteur vient d'identifier un nouveau gène associé à l'autisme. Le rôle clé de ce gène dans la synthèse de la mélatonine apporte de nouvelles informations sur ce trouble du développement, atteignant les jeunes enfants, et dont l'origine demeure encore très mystérieuse. Ces travaux sont publiés en avant-première sur le site de la revue Molecular Psychiatry. L'autisme est un syndrome complexe, classé parmi les troubles envahissants du développement, qui apparait avant l'âge de 3 ans. Il est caractérisé par des déficits dans les interactions sociales et la communication, associés à un répertoire de comportements restreints, répétitifs et stéréotypés. Aujourd'hui, un enfant sur 200 serait atteint d'autisme, avec une fréquence quatre fois plus élevée chez les garçons. Depuis plusieurs années, de nombreuses recherches ont été menées pour identifier les gènes associés à l'autisme. En 2003, puis en 2006, deux études menées par le groupe Génétique humaine et fonctions cognitives dirigé par Thomas Bourgeron à l'Institut Pasteur (1) avaient permis d'identifier, chez certaines personnes atteintes d'autisme ou du syndrome d'Asperger (forme moins sévère de l'autisme), des mutations altérant des gènes (NLGN3, NLGN4 et SHANK3) impliqués dans la formation des synapses, zones de communication entre les neurones. Cette équipe de l'Institut Pasteur s'est depuis intéressée à une région particulière des chromosomes X et Y, appelée région pseudo-autosomique 1 (PAR1). Des altérations de cette région avaient été observées chez des personnes avec autisme, mais le ou les gènes en cause n'avaient pas été identifiés.»...
Source: http://www.pasteur.fr | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Some Democrats are pushing for "grass-roots" groups to disclose more about their sources of funding; opponents say such disclosure threatens free speech. By Marilyn Geewax WASHINGTON BUREAU Sunday, April 01, 2007 WASHINGTON ...” When Harry and Louise appeared in TV ads to criticize the Clinton administration's health care reform effort in 1993, that "average" American couple's views helped sink the proposal. Harry and Louise were not real people. They were actors hired by a lobbying group for the health insurance industry. Their success helped spur a proliferation of issue-oriented ads in which actors urge voters to get involved in "grass-roots" campaigns. This spring, government watchdog groups are pushing Congress to pass legislation to force lobbying groups to disclose their financial ties to what critics call "Astroturf" lobbying. "You're looking at cute actors spinning out a story ...” it's an ad," said Sarah Dufendach, chief of legislative affairs for Common Cause, a nonpartisan public advocacy group. "As people see more and more of these ads, it's important to know who is behind them."»...
Source: http://www.statesman.com | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«Le Canard Enchainé révèle que lobby des pesticides s'attaque à un livre. Comme le révèle la semaine dernière Le Canard Enchainé, « le lobby des pesticides a décidé de discréditer par des moyens détestables un livre qui le gêne, "Pesticides, révélations sur un scandale français"' (Fayard) » déplore le MDRGF, qui ajoute que le lobby des pesticides « s'attaque également à la presse. » « Il le fait en s'attaquant d'abord et avant tout à ses auteurs, le journaliste Fabrice Nicolino et le président du MDRGF François Veillerette. » Il le fait également à travers des tracts distribués au Salon de l'Agriculture dénonçant des hypothétiques « terroristes verts » alliés aux « médias traditionnels » Le Canard Enchainé du 22 mars 2007 à en effet révélé que « la lobby pro pesticide qui s'attaque de manière dissimulée au travers de sites "noirs" aux ONG et aux auteurs de « Pesticides, Révélations sur un scandale français ». » Selon nos confrères, « On a d'abord vu sur le site ...˜Agriculture environnement' des attaques très personnelles de la part d'un soit disant « journaliste indépendant » Gil rivière Wekstein entouré par de mystérieux agriculteurs anonymes., à l'égard du livre et des auteurs. »»...
Source: http://www.actualites-news-environnement.com | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«When 'grass-roots' campaigns are the product of lobbyists, members of Congress should know about it. January 27, 2007 A MEMBER OF Congress will sit up and pay attention when told that 1,000 ...” or even 100 ...” constituents have written or e-mailed about a particular piece of legislation. Paying attention to grass-roots opinion is part of a politician's DNA. But what if the voice of the people is really only an echo of a sophisticated pitch by professional lobbyists? In that not-uncommon situation, "grass-roots" lobbying of Congress has been dubbed the political equivalent of AstroTurf, the artificial grass first installed in the Houston Astrodome in 1966. The real AstroTurf has its defenders. But no one argues that baseball or football players shouldn't know if they are playing on grass or on a synthetic substitute. (The information would be impossible to keep from them anyway.) Likewise, shouldn't lawmakers know whether a "grass-roots" campaign is actually "AstroTurf"?».! ..
Source: http://www.latimes.com | Source Status

«A MEMBER OF Congress will sit up and pay attention when told that 1,000 ...” or even 100 ...” constituents have written or e-mailed about a particular piece of legislation. Paying attention to grass-roots opinion is part of a politician's DNA. But what if the voice of the people is really only an echo of a sophisticated pitch by professional lobbyists? In that not-uncommon situation, "grass-roots" lobbying of Congress has been dubbed the political equivalent of AstroTurf, the artificial grass first installed in the Houston Astrodome in 1966. The real AstroTurf has its defenders. But no one argues that baseball or football players shouldn't know if they are playing on grass or on a synthetic substitute. (The information would be impossible to keep from them anyway.) Likewise, shouldn't lawmakers know whether a "grass-roots" campaign is actually "AstroTurf"? The sponsors of the recently enacted ethics bill in the Senate thought so, and included in an early version of that legislation a proposal to require any organization that spends at least $25,000 to stimulate grass-roots lobbying to file detailed reports with Congress. The provision was stripped out, however, after complaints that the restrictions would interfere with free speech by ensnarling activists in bureaucratic red tape.»...
Source: http://www.latimes.com | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«ANDREW WAKEFIELD, the former surgeon whose campaign linking the MMR vaccine with autism caused a collapse in immunisation rates, was paid more than £400,000 by lawyers trying to prove that the vaccine was unsafe. The payments, unearthed by The Sunday Times, were part of £3.4m distributed from the legal aid fund to doctors and scientists who had been recruited to support a now failed lawsuit against vaccine manufacturers. Critics this weekend voiced amazement at the sums, which they said created a clear conflict of interest and were the "financial engine" behind a worldwide alarm over the triple measles, mumps and rubella shot. "These figures are astonishing," said Dr Evan Harris, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon. "This lawsuit was an industry, and an industry peddling what turned out to be a myth." According to the figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, Wakefield was paid £435,643 in fees, plus £3,910 expenses. Wakefield's work for the lawyers began two years before he published his now notorious report in The Lancet medical journal in February 1998, proposing a link between the vaccine and autism.»...
Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«A l'issue d'une remise en compétition sur les marques hygiène-beauté du groupe Unilever, l'agence Via Nova a été de nouveau choisie pourr Sunsilk, Timotei, Rexona et Signal, marques dont l'agence s'occupait depuis douze ans. La mission de Via Nova sera de gérer à la fois les relations de ces marques avec la presse mais également avec les influenceurs du Web via un programme de relations publiques interactives. Par ailleurs, après compétition, Via Nova Spheeris a été choisi par la start-up Scroon pour faire connaître son service à une cible internationale de leaders d'opinion sur le Web. Enfin, déjà en charge des relations presse de Stanhome (groupe Yves Rocher) depuis deux ans, l'agence réalisera en 2007 pour la marque un plan de relations publiques interactives à destination du réseau de conseillères mais aussi des consommateurs.»...
Source: http://www.emarketing.fr | Source Status

«Y a-t-il réellement un besoin crucial de la fibre pour faire de l'Internet ? Oui, si vous voulez avoir un avenir dans ce pays. Sur la fibre, quel est l'opérateur le mieux placé selon vous ? Free arrive... avec l'artillerie. La fibre dans le 92, ça sert à quoi ? Le département est déjà bien doté, non ? Non, pas de fibre chez les habitants. Il faut un plan fibre à l'instar du 92 pour toute la France. Je pense que la fibre va permettre de nouvelles applications pour "vivre mieux".» [...] «Entre 2 et 4 millions d'abonnés fibre en France en 2010 ? N'est-ce pas une prévision trop optimiste sans l'aide des collectivités à toute échelle ? Ne pensez-vous pas que l'arrivée de la fibre risque de creuser l'écart entre les villes et le monde rural, qui devra attendre plusieurs années ? (Certains en sont encore au 56k ne l'oublions pas !) Voilà une bonne question... La réponse est oui, sauf si le politique prend la décision d'un plan fibre pour tout le monde, avec péréquations des coûts. »...
Source: http://www.journaldunet.com | Source Status

«As consumer demand for high-tech services grows, billions of dollars are at stake for telecommunications companies. Much of the battle is being waged in the halls of Congress right now, where our representatives are considering an overhaul of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Cable, telephone and Internet industry giants are fiercely lobbying, using every tool at their disposal to gain a competitive advantage in telecom reform legislation. Some of those tools are easy to spot - campaign contributions, television ads that run only inside the Beltway, and meetings with influential members of Congress. Other tactics are more insidious. One of the underhanded tactics increasingly being used by telecom companies is "Astroturf lobbying" -- creating front groups that try to mimic true grassroots, but that are all about corporate money, not citizen power. Astroturf lobbying is hardly a new approach. Senator Lloyd Bentsen is credited with coining the term in the 1980s to describe cor! porations' big-money efforts to put fake grassroots pressure on Congress.»...
Source: http://www.commoncause.org | Source Status

«Jackie Danicki writes in that Pierce Mattie PR is getting up in her grill by allegedly spamming beauty blogs. They are purportedly astroturfing, posing as customers of their clients' products and leaving phony comments on her blog and others. Jackie has tracked the IP addresses for the firm. This comes on the heels of some similar shenanigans over at DCI. This is a good time to talk about the work that Keith Jackson (the Aussie PR guy, not Mr. "Whoa Nellie") and others are doing to stop this kind of nonsense. They have launched an initiative to put an end to astroturfing. This is becoming a really important issue for the PR community. A small number of black hats are going to give the folks who are engaging bloggers the right way to get an unfair black eye. I urge everyone in the PR community to read and pass along the information that's on the New PR Wiki. This is certainly something we will do at Edelman and I am sure other leading firms are doing the same.»...
Source: http://www.micropersuasion.com | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«Research by Andrew Wakefield, published in 1998, suggested a link between the triple measles, mumps and rubella jab and autism and bowel problems. Public concern over the findings led to a large drop in the vaccination rate. The GMC is understood to have preliminary charged Dr Wakefield with publishing inadequately founded research, failing to obtain ethical approval, obtaining funding improperly and subjecting children to unnecessary and invasive investigations. A spokeswoman for the council said yesterday that Dr Wakefield was under investigation for alleged misconduct but was unable to detail the charges. "During the course of an investigation, charges are formulated . . . These charges change and evolve," she said. Dr Wakefield was discredited after large-scale studies failed to find evidence of a link between autism and the jab.»...
Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Last updated: Wednesday, March 08, 2006 Sensational, inaccurate, or unbalanced reporting can undermine public faith in science and even endanger peoples' lives, according to a report from the Social Market foundation (SMF), an independent UK research group. Advertisement The report, entitled Science, risk and the media - Do the front pages reflect reality?, highlights how unbalanced reporting on the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella) skewed public opinion on the vaccine, and may have lead to a decrease in vaccinations, and thereby an increase in disease. Minor study given huge press A widely reported study published in 1998 linked the MMR jab to an increased risk of autism and bowel disease in children.»...
Source: http://www.health24.com | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Jean-Michel Billaut (expert TIC) : "La fibre couterait moins cher que l'ADSL" Le spécialiste high-tech, ardent défenseur du "100 Mbit/s pour tous", revient sur les avancées de l'ultra haut débit en France. Philippe Guerrier, vnunet 27-12-2005 Advertisement Difficile de trouver un ambassadeur plus loquace pour promouvoir le très haut débit. Jean-Michel Billaut reste l'un des plus ardents défenseurs d'un déploiement en fibre optique pour couvrir la France, voire l'Europe, afin d'entrer réellement dans la société de l'information. Une utopie ? Il suffit juste d'une réelle impulsion politique, répond l'intéressé. Jean-Michel Billaut a un don d'ubiquité dans le monde des nouvelles technologies car son parcours professionnel est dense. Notons qu'il a fondé la cellule de veille technologique L'Atelier du groupe BNP-Paribas et qu'il est conseiller auprès de la ville de Pau pour le développement de son réseau en fibre optique. Sur son blog bien alimenté (je vous invite à découvrir ses premiers pas dans la "vidéoblogsphère"), cet expert des TIC revient sur l'avancée de la fibre optique en France. Un secteur qui bouge beaucoup ces temps-ci. (Interview réalisée le 22 décembre 2005)»...
Source: http://www.vnunet.fr | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«Depuis plusieurs jours, on entend parler de grippe aviaire H5N1 et de ses risques, de la prévention par le vaccin, "la grippe espagnole" de 1918/1920 étant souvent prise en exemple. A l'époque, certains s'en sont sorti sans dommage. Voyons comment. Le virus H1N1, qui a causé la grippe espagnole, a disparu de la population humaine vers 1957, étant toujours présent chez le porc. Il est réapparu chez l'homme en 1977. Ce sous-type étant toujours présent dans une population animale, si un animal infecté entre en contact avec un être humain, il pourrait le lui transmettre. Dans d'autres cas, un nouveau sous-type peut très bien infecter quelques personnes mais s'avérer être très peu infectieux d'un homme à un autre. Ce fut le cas de la « grippe du poulet de HongKong » en 1997, de sous-type H5N1 présent dans la volaille, qui a pu infecter des humains. Ce virus s'est par la suite avéré non infectieux d'un homme à un autre. L'épidémie de grippe espagnole : 20 millions de morts.» [...] «C’est donc par l’homéopathie, bien connue de la majorité des Français, qu’il faudra se soigner au cas où une pandémie surviendrait. »...
Source: http://www.agoravox.fr | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Astroturf refers to apparently grassroots-based citizen groups or coalitions that are primarily conceived, created and/or funded by corporations, industry trade associations, political interests or public relations firms.] Definitions Campaigns & Elections magazine defines astroturf as a "grassroots program that involves the instant manufacturing of public support for a point of view in which either uninformed activists are recruited or means of deception are used to recruit them." Journalist William Greider has coined his own term to describe corporate grassroots organizing. He calls it "democracy for hire." Senator Lloyd Bentsen, himself a long-time Washington and Wall Street insider, is credited with coining the term "astroturf lobbying" to describe the synthetic grassroots movements that now can be manufactured for a fee by companies like Beckel Cowan, Bivings Group, Bonner & Associates, Burson-Marsteller, Davies Communications, DCI Group, Direct Impact, Hill & Knowlton, Issue Dynamics Inc., National Grassroots & Communications, or Optima Direct.»...
Source: http://www.sourcewatch.org | Source Status Categories: Bibliographie,Lobbying/Astroturf

«The Promise of Vaccines: The Science and the Controversy By David R. Smith, M.D. Posted: Monday, September 1, 2003 Printer Format icon Printer Format Email Information icon E-mail Information Executive Summary Standing among the greatest achievements in public health, vaccines have had a greater impact on reducing death and disability from infectious diseases than almost any other public health intervention. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of vaccines and the science of immunity, including a discussion of the remarkable advances in disease prevention through the evolution of vaccines. We focus on several recent vaccine safety controversies that may prevent maximization of their potential. Much attention has been devoted to vaccine safety and the potential relationship between various diseases and vaccinations, including influenza vaccine and Guillain-Barré syndrome, MMR (mumps, measles, and rubella) vaccine and autism and idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura, thimerosal in vaccines and autism, hepatitis B vaccine and multiple sclerosis, and childhood vaccines and type 1 diabetes. The vast majority of reports linking vaccines with various diseases comprise case reports that do not meet the scientific criteria established to attribute causality. A review of recent studies published in the medical literature is presented to help clarify the scientific data related to the association between vaccines and these medical diagnoses. Also addressed are concerns about safety related to vaccine additives and preservatives, specifically thimerosal.»...
Source: http://www.acsh.org | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«Fears that the incidence of autism is rising among children and that the MMR vaccine is to blame are unfounded, according to new a study in a British specialist journal. A widespread perception, in Britain and some other countries, is that autism has been on the rise since the early 1990s and that the surge has been triggered by the single-shot MMR vaccine (aimed at measles, mumps and rubella). The study in the journal, Archives of Disease in Childhood, said there was indeed a statistical rise in autism in the 1990s. But it found this was probably because doctors became better at diagnosing the condition, and parents became more willing to accept it than in the past, when the disorder was little known and a social taboo. It also shot down notions that the MMR vaccine was to blame for a new form of 'regressive autism', possibly connected with bowel problems. "The claims that MMR vaccine is involved in the initiation of autism, and/or with regression, and/or with bowel problems associated with autism are not associated with any credible scientific evidence," wrote Professor Brent Taylor of London's Royal Free and University College Medical School and colleagues. Driving the nail home, he added: "There is compelling and increasing evidence showing no association."»...
Source: http://www.abc.net.au | Source Status Categories: Lobbying/Astroturf,Analyse/Methodologie, S.C.A.M.

«The web of deceit over GM food has now drawn in the PM's speechwriters George Monbiot Wednesday May 29, 2002 The Guardian Tony Blair's speech to the Royal Society last Thursday was a wonderful jumble of misconceptions and logical elisions. He managed to confuse science with its technological products. GM crops are no more "science" than cars, computers or washing machines, and those opposing them are no more "anti-science" than people who don't like the Millennium Dome are "anti-architecture". He suggested that in the poor world people welcome genetic engineering. It was unfortunate that the example he chose was the biotech industry in Bangalore in south-west India. Bangalore happens to be the centre of the world's most effective protests against GM crops, the capital of a state in which anti-GM campaigners outnumber those in the UK by 1,000 to one. Like most biotech enthusiasts, he ignored the key concern of the activists: the corporate takeover of the food chain, and its ! devastating consequences for food security. Article continues But it would be wrong to blame Blair alone for these misconstructions. The prime minister was simply repeating a suite of arguments formulated elsewhere. Over the past month, activists have slowly been discovering where that "elsewhere" may be. Two weeks ago, this column showed how the Bivings Group, a PR company contracted to Monsanto, had invented fake citizens to post messages on internet listservers. These phantoms had launched a campaign to force Nature magazine to retract a paper it had published, alleging that native corn in Mexico had been contaminated with GM pollen. But this, it now seems, is just one of hundreds of critical interventions with which PR companies hired by big business have secretly guided the biotech debate over the past few years.»...
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk | Source Status

«Persuasion works best when it's invisible. The most effective marketing worms its way into our consciousness, leaving intact the perception that we have reached our opinions and made our choices independently. As old as humankind itself, over the past few years this approach has been refined, with the help of the internet, into a technique called "viral marketing". Last month, the viruses appear to have murdered their host. One of the world's foremost scientific journals was persuaded to do something it had never done before, and retract a paper it had published.» [...] «So the campaign against the researchers was extraordinarily successful; but who precisely started it? Who are "Mary Murphy" and "Andura Smetacek"? Both claim to be ordinary citizens, without any corporate links. The Bivings Group says it has "no knowledge of them". "Mary Murphy" uses a hotmail account for posting messages to AgBioWorld. But a message satirising the opponents of biotech, sent by "Mary Murphy" from the same hotmail account to another server two years ago, contains the identification bw6.bivwood.com. Bivwood.com is the property of Bivings Woodell, which is part of the Bivings Group. »...
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf

«Example Citation: "Of the calls we are getting in the D.C. office, about half are Astroturf and half are real," said Mr. Milburn, in Mr. Hobson's office, using Washington parlance for calls that seem to be from individuals but are in fact orchestrated by lobbying groups. ..”Katharine Q. Seelye, "Public Is Flooding Capitol With Impeachment Views," The New York Times, December 15, 1998 Earliest Citation: Issue-oriented newspaper advertisements featuring clip-out coupons are often designed to show that the sponsor's goal has grass-roots support. But the "grass roots is AstroTurf in many cases, artificial turf," says Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas. A case in point, in his view, is the recent ad campaign by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States against increases in excise taxes on liquor. Bentsen reports that a third of the 190 coupons his office received were altered to express support for tax increases that the coupon says could raise the price of a bottle of liquor $2 and "put a lot of people in the beverage alcohol business out of work." ...”"Playing on astroturf," The National Journal, April 19, 1986»...
Source: http://www.wordspy.com | Source Status Category: Lobbying/Astroturf