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Edelmann Behind Two More Walmart Flogs

Edelman, the PR firm behind the “Wal-Marting Across America” blog is also behind two blogs on Working Families for Wal-Mart.

MediaPost.com reports:

One blog appears on the home page of Working Families for Wal-Mart, the allegedly grassroots advocacy group formed by Edelman last December, which is “committed to fostering open and honest dialogue…that
conveys the positive contributions of Wal-Mart to working families.” The second blog is on WFWM’s subsidiary site Paid Critics.

The Paid Critics blog is devoted to “exposing” links between unions and other vested interests that are “smearing Wal-Mart” through the media. Until yesterday, blog entries on both WFWM and Paid Critics were
uncredited. Thursday, bylines were added to blog posts “in response to comments and emails.”

It is these stories and products like PayPerPost.com that discredit everybody in the blogosphere. We all become suspicious. We all become potentional floggers in the eye of the public.

Technorati Tags: edelman, blogging, flogs, flog, walmart

[...] Heute berichtete das PR-Kloster über mögliche Eklats, die sich nach den USA (beachte zum Thema Edelman und WalMart die Artikel auf: MediaPost Publications und darauf referenzierend beispielsweise The Last Podcast) möglicherweise auch in Deutschland anbahnen mögen. Demnach seien die PR-Agentur Wilde & Partner und die Holtzbrinck Verlagsgruppe mit seinem Unternehmen Germanblogs in einen ähnlichen Vorfall wie Edelman und WalMart verwickelt. Einen Tag zuvor hatten bereits blogbar.de, basicthinking.de und turi2.de Artikel zum Thema veröffentlicht. [...]

[...] 10 principles for ethical blogger contact have been published by WOMMA - although you have to question their effectiveness after the recent Edelman-Walmart flogs (fake blogs) debacle (PR giant, Edelman being heavily involved in WOMMA).  However, the list is a handy reference for public relations practitioners entering the blogosphere: [...]

[...] WOMMA’s Ethics Assessment Tool. By way of For Immediate Release (#185), I found out that the Word of Mouth Marketing Association has developed 20 questions that you can ask contractors, agencies and all personnel to identify, avoid and eliminate unethical word of mouth tactics. This is definitely needed in light of the Walmart and lonelygirl15 fiascos. [...]