In the 1950s, with the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer becoming well established, the tobacco industry was in crisis. Its PR strategy, devised by the firm Hill & Knowlton, was "entangling itself in the manipulation of fundamental scientific processes," as Allan Brandt describes in his new book, "The Cigarette Century." It was Hill & Knowlton's John Hill who "hit on the idea of creating an industry-sponsored research entity. Ultimately, he concluded, the best public relations approach was for the industry to become a major sponsor of medical research." This approach "implied that existing studies were inadequate or flawed," and made the tobacco industry "seem a committed participant in the scientific enterprise rather than a detractor." In 1953, tobacco companies jointly released a Hill & Knowlton-drafted memo that stated, "We always have and always will cooperate closely with those whose task it is to safeguard the public health." The industry also created the "Tobacco Industry Research Committee."

Telecom analyst Bruce Kushnick writes that "Astroturf and co-opted groups representing the deaf, disabled, black, low income and others" are "touting a plan to loosen cable franchise rules for the phone companies." He asks, "What do these groups" -- including the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Consumers for Cable Choice, Video Access Alliance, League of United Latin American Citizens, Alliance for Public Technology, National Association of the Deaf, and American Association of People with Disabilities -- "have in common? They all receive funding from AT&T and/or Verizon, and then lobby for them." This "deception ... is about playing on America's caring about the public interest and about minorities getting a fair shake," Kushnick concludes. Worse, "these organizations have very deep-pocketed funders with lobbying groups, PR firms and others to get them the loudest 'volume' in the media or access to regulators and legislators. They often overwhelm the message of independent consumer groups."

Sciences International -- the firm that evaluated the safety of certain chemicals for the U.S. Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction, "helping the government determine whether they pose dangers to reproduction and newborn babies" -- has been fired by the federal government. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) and others had raised conflict-of-interest concerns, as Sciences International was doing government work while "on the payroll of Dow Chemical, BASF, 3M and other companies that produce some of the chemicals under scrutiny." EWG director Richard Wiles said, "Protecting the public health is one of those jobs that can't be farmed out to contractors who have huge conflicts of interest with polluters and chemical makers." Sciences International "was in the fourth year of a $5 million, five-year contract" with the National Institutes of Health, which houses the reproductive health center.