A ‘disturbing example of unethical’ PR

“A USA Today reporter and editor investigating Pentagon propaganda contractors have themselves been subjected to a propaganda campaign of sorts, waged on the Internet through a series of bogus websites.”

After Pentagon reporter Tom Vanden Brook started asking questions in January about government-backed marketing campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan—which cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars—a website bearing Vanden Brook’s name, as well as fake social media accounts, showed up online.

A similar website created by the same company appeared weeks later when the byline of Vanden Brook’s editor, Ray Locker, appeared with a story.

If the smear campaign was paid for with taxpayer money, it could violate a federal law, according to USA Today. The Pentagon has denied knowledge of any activity.