this is a story i missed over the weekend (either because of work, or because i am reading too much about the middle-east crisis and neglecting other news items), and was amazed to read today.

ABC reported that a supposedly amateur video on youtube that is making fun of al gore and his message about the dangers of global warming has actually been produced by a PR firm that counts among its client ExxonMobil.

the PR firm (DCI ) and Enron refused to comment on whether this indeed the case. but when the WSJ tried to reach out to the supposed amateur the email could be traced back to servers belonging to the PR firm..

youtube, blogs, myspace and more are used more and more by corporates to promote their products and message, but it seems to cross the line in being disingenuous. it is one thing to create a blog or a youtube video and even make it look amateurish, but deceiving the users to believe this was done by some 29yr old guy from california just for the fun of it, is something else.