Propaganda Scandal
In 2004, Ketchum produced a controversial series of prepackaged news stories for HHS that featured actors posing as journalists and touted drug benefits. The ads aired on at least 40 television stations and violated a federal propaganda ban because they did not inform viewers that they came from the government, the Government Accountability Office stated.
According to HHS officials, Ketchum got the new work because it already had a multiyear contract to provide public relations services for the department.
Read more about this topic: Ketchum Inc.
Famous quotes containing the words propaganda and/or scandal:
“Do not forget birthdays. This is in no way a propaganda for a larger population.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“Gossip isn’t scandal and it’s not merely malicious. It’s chatter about the human race by lovers of the same. Gossip is the tool of the poet, the shop-talk of the scientist, and the consolation of the housewife, wit, tycoon and intellectual. It begins in the nursery and ends when speech is past.”
—Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978)