Warning for disinformation at the internet

There is a lot of apparently very convincing pseudoinformation

Because many people use internet as an information source, corporations are misusng internet to promote their interests. They hire Public Relations companies who are highy skilled in manipulating and misleading people in a very convincing way.

Therefore, be careful about information on the internet, especially if it creates doubts about products or activities that threaten the interests of corporations.

For example, GreenPeace has been under heavy attack and has even been infiltrated by people who thereafter create websites where they claim to be insiders who reveal "the truth" about Greenpeace see for example "The truth about greenpeace".

Another exampe is the present systematic attack on various natural herbal products, vitamins and minerals that reduce the need for pharmacological drugs. Every minor side effect and any statement about the harm of a natural remedy is blown up disproportionately and is disseminated world-wide in pressreleases published by newspapers all over the world.

An example is the rumour that C-vitamin may be harmful (producing free radicals through the socalled Fenton reaction). It has been distributed all over the world especially to physicians. Recent thorough research has proven that this rumour has no scientific basis, see for example Niki, E. (1991) “Action of ascorbic acid as a scavenger of active and stable oxygen radicals” Am J Clin Nutr 54: 1119-24 and (2003 Biological News,). Millions who could have prevented their common cold with harmless C-vitamin have in stead used the more or less harmful and more expensive products of the pharma industry.

Sponsoring misleading websites

One strategy is creating or sponsoring websites that give the impression of being scientific, but in reality have the only purpose of discrediting some activity or product. For example in the case of Global Warming there there are websites that claim to reveal the "swindle of global warming" (The coal and oil corporations have systematically been supporting scientific and other activities that question or deny global warming).

One such website is Junkman.com. This website contains a large number of articles and are produced with proffesional web technology. It is "updated every day" and is produced by a single person who apparently works full time with it this work of "revealing the truth" about Global Warming. We cannot prove that just this website is sponsored, but its highly biassed stance and it focus on the non-academic general public is typical of this kind of websites.

Creating pseudoclubs and pseudoemaillists

This is a very seductive and effective strategy, giving the impression that many people are involved in activities directed against some issue or organization considered "undesirable" by some corporation.

For example organizations have created to create doubts about activities against genetic engineering, see for example "Corporations are inventing people to rubbish their opponents on the internet".

Websites that provide alternatives for free

Another strategy is to provide for free services similar to what to that of potential competitors. For example Transcendental Meditation is attacked because it has been well documented to effectively reduce blood pressure through over 20 million USD research funding by the US National Institute of Health.

The high blood pressure remedies bring billions of dollars to the Pharmaceutical industry. Therefore it is not surprising to find websites that claim to offer effective, apparently similar but in reality ineffective techniques for free, thereby discrediting TM (as their use convince people that it does not work).

Another approach that has been used against TM and other organizations or product that reduce the need for corporate products is "Fear uncertainty and doubt".

"Fear uncertainty and doubt" (FUD)

This strategy is widely used by corporations to deter consumers from products or activities that compete with or may reduce consumtion of the products of the company.

"FUD is generally a strategic attempt to influence public perception by disseminating negative (and vague) information. An individual firm, for example, might use FUD to invite unfavorable opinions and speculation about a competitor's product"
Source: Wikipedia on FUD.

A Golden Rule

Related articles

• "PR strategies used to manipulate public opinions"
• The enemies of democracy

Physicians and Scientists for Responsible
Application of Science and Technology
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