"Over the weekend," comments SaveTheInternet.com, "AT&T gave us a glimpse of their plans for the Web when they censored a Pearl Jam performance that didn’t meet their standard of 'Internet freedom.' During the live Lollapalooza Webcast of a concert by the Seattle-based super-group, the telco giant muted lead singer Eddie Vedder just as he launched into a lyric against President George Bush. The lines — 'George Bush, leave this world alone' and 'George Bush find yourself another home' were somehow lost in the mix." After the band complained, an AT&T flack said the deletion was a mistake by its "content monitor," who was only supposed to be deleting profanity. (But since when do music groups need "content monitoring" at all?)

In a July 2005 PR Watch post, Laura Miller asked whether the U.S. Defense Department's "America Supports You" campaign was an attempt "to boost public support for war and distract ... from criticisms." Turns out, it's even more problematic. As Max Blumenthal reports, the "evangelical entertainment troupe" Operation Straight Up (OSU), which "actively proselytizes among active-duty members of the US military," is an official arm of America Supports You. OSU "plans to mail copies of the controversial apocalyptic video game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces to soldiers serving in Iraq." The game is based on the Tim LaHaye/Jerry Jenkins books, and players must "kill or convert ... non-believers left behind after the rapture." They're also mailing English and Arabic versions of the evangelical book More Than A Carpenter, "ostensibly intended for proselytizing efforts among Iraqi civilians." OSU will head to the Mideast for a "Military Crusade in Iraq." As OSU leader Jonathan Spinks explains: "At no greater time is our military acceptant of the principles of God and prayer, than when under extreme danger and concerned about their loved ones at home."

Five years ago in their book "Trust Us We're Experts," CMD's Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber exposed the propaganda machine selling Americans the idea that global warming is good for us. Newsweek's Sharon Begley examines the current situation: "If you think those who have long challenged the mainstream scientific findings about global warming recognize that the game is over, think again. ... Since the late 1980s, this well-coordinated, well-funded campaign by contrarian scientists, free-market think tanks and industry has created a paralyzing fog of doubt around climate change. ... Now they contend that the looming warming will be minuscule and harmless."

A survey of the impact of marketing on children's taste preferences has revealed the power of McDonald's. Sixty-three preschoolers from low-income families in California were presented with five samples of identical foods and beverages, one in McDonald's packaging and the other in unbranded packaging. They were then asked "to indicate if they tasted the same or if one tasted better." The results? "54.1 per cent of the children said baby carrots served on top of a paper bag bearing the McDonald's logo tasted better than those on a plain bag (23 per cent) - even though McDonald's does not have carrots on its menu," reported Kate Benson in the Sydney Morning Herald. The study authors concluded that the results are "consistent with recommendations to regulate marketing to young children."

The human rights group Friends of Maldives protests H&K

A local branch of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) representing University of California (UC) employees is protesting against UC management's hiring Hill & Knowlton to spin its labor record. The union called on the university to drop the PR firm, citing John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton's book, "Trust Us, We're Experts," which recounted H&K's work opposing measures to reduce children's lead exposure. In a letter to UC President Robert Dynes, a coalition supporting the AFSCME branch pointed out that the company had also worked for the tobacco industry and "some of the worst human rights abusing states in the world." In an email to PR Week, UC spokesperson Peter Schwartz responded that H&K "has been invaluable in helping us to keep our employees and the general public educated about UC labor negotiations."

Jamil Anderlini and Mure Dickie report that when the banking company HSBC and the China Charity Foundation recently held a celebration in Beijing, the event organizers paid attending Chinese journalists 200 renminbi ($26.40) as "transport money." "It's awful. It's an embarrassment for Chinese journalism ... and it's corruption," said Ying Chan, director of the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong. Esmond Quek, the CEO for Hill & Knowlton's Beijing office, told the Financial Times that payments, which can be more for television crews, were at rates agreed with by China's Public Relations Association (CPRA). "The amount given is standard and specifically for transportation," said Quek, who previously worked for British American Tobacco. However, the "standard" amount is greater than the cost of cross-city taxi fares, and some PR practitioners dispute that the CPRA has endorsed the practice or set a rate.