There was a time in the not-too-distant past that every PR person worth their salt religiously adhered to this maxim: Never engage in any activity that would be embarrassing if it was exposed on the front page of the New York Times. The Times no longer commands the widespread trust and respect the publication once did, which possibly explains why companies and individuals feel emboldened to lie and deceive their way out of tough predicaments.
Google, Amazon, Microsoft, the folks running the Oscars, and some Deutsche Bank bankers in New York have stepped up to reinforce the wisdom of an adage children of my generation were once taught: Honesty is the best policy.
CNBC reported Wednesday that Amazon and Google are the financial backers of a “grass roots” Washington tech lobbying group called “Connected Commerce Council,” which supposedly represents small business owners who champion technology as being critical to their businesses. Amazon and Google secretly bankrolling 3C is disgraceful enough, but CNBC reported that some of the organization’s purported members never heard of the group and wouldn’t join it if they did.
One such person CNBC identified was Clay Montgomery, who owns a small blacksmith shop called “Arrow M Enterprises” in Mingus, a small community (pop. 235) in nowheresville Texas.
“Technology is not exactly my forte,” said Montgomery, who also sells a spicy barbeque sauce and a meat rub called “Bite My Butt.”
Another 3C listed member is Christine Little, whose company, 1058 Auto and Towing, is in Swansea, South Carolina. Little said she wasn’t familiar with 3C.
“I’m pretty sure I’d remember” joining the group, Little told CNBC. “We just tow.”
The practice of so-called “Astroturfing” where a supposedly grass roots group is a front for corporate interests, was pioneered by Edelman, repeatedly ranked as the biggest PR firm in the world. In 2006, BusinessWeek exposed Edelman as the backer of a group called “Working Families for Wal-Mart,” which promoted itself as a “grass-roots” organization but was run by Edelman staffers or people connected to them. The sister of an Edelman staffer was co-author of a blog called “Wal-Marting Across America,” that chronicled the experiences of a man and a woman traveling across the U.S. in an RV singing Walmart’s praises while staying in the chain’s parking lots.
Walmart, which previously hyphenated its corporate name, was an Edelman client. Edelman’s tag line: “Earning Trust Through Communications.”
Google years ago was a victim of a smear campaign secretly financed by Facebook. In 2001, COO Sheryl Sandberg hired Burson-Marsteller, another giant PR firm, to secretly smear Google for that company’s alleged user privacy violations. At the time, Facebook was under fire for repeated user privacy violations of its own and was close to signing a consent decree for repeated transgressions.
That campaign proved an embarrassment when it was exposed, but Sandberg apparently was undeterred. In 2018, it was revealed that Facebook hired a Republican opposition firm to smear George Soros because of the financier’s criticisms of the company’s failure to prevent the dissemination of propaganda on its site. Sandberg oversees PR for Meta Platforms, Facebook’s rebranded corporate name.
Mark Penn, the former CEO of Burson and a former aide to both President and Hillary Clinton, went on to join Microsoft, which is possibly in some deep doo-doo of its own. A former employee recently alleged Microsoft engaged in bribery schemes in the Middle East and Africa. Microsoft said it has “previously investigated” and addressed the allegations.
Microsoft, Google-parent Alphabet, and Amazon are respectively the second, third, and fourth largest holdings in Vanguard’s socially responsible ESGV fund. Meta Platforms ranks No. 7.
TMZ and CNN reported today that a statement issued by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday saying actor Will Smith was asked to leave the Oscars after slapping comedian Chris Rock in the face was a lie. In fact, according to TMZ, Will was told by the show’s producer he could stay. In deference to critics who say I shouldn’t link to disreputable news sources, I’m only linking to TMZ’s report.
The Academy said it initiated “disciplinary proceedings” against Smith for violating its standards of conduct. Apparently lying isn’t a violation of the Academy’s ethics standards.
Finally, underscoring the advantages of telling the truth, the New York Post reported today that Deutsche Bank didn’t fire the lone truth teller among a group of Deutsche Bank bankers who expensed a night at a strip club but lied about the nature of the entertainment. The jiggle joint tab reportedly exceeded $1,000.
“It really was about the coverup and the deception,” an unidentified source told the Post. “The coverup was worse than the crime.”
The Post reported that two of the fired Deutsche Bank employees, Ben Darsney and Ravi Raghunathan, possibly risk losing as much as $6 million in deferred compensation.
It’s a wonder to me how someone could risk losing more than $6 million to cover up a $1,000 bar tab. Therein is why I never earned more than $6 million in deferred compensation.
It seems abundantly clear that nothing good ever comes of corporate lying and deception. Instead of trying to teach children about sexuality and critical race theory, it would be wise to go back to basics and teach children the merits of honesty and integrity. America’s Founding Fathers had their faults, but at least George Washington mythically never told a lie.
Even I know that – and I grew up in Canada.