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Top Pentagon propagandist boasted of running a smear campaign against USA Today

Cory Doctorow at 12:26 pm Fri, Dec 14, 2012

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Camille Chidiac, one of the owners of "the Pentagon's top propaganda contractor in Afghanistan" is being sued for stealing company secrets related to waterproofing Iphones, and the lawsuit's filings include documents alleging that Chiciac boasted of running a smear campaign against USA Today:

The online smear campaign began early in 2012 and included fake Twitter feeds, Facebook pages and fan club sites. Chidiac, according to the lawsuit, said he could mount such attacks and the paper "would never know it was him."

The smears ended in late April after Pentagon officials were alerted to it. Chidiac acknowledged his role in creating the websites in May but said he had done so as a private citizen. He promised to sell his stake in the company but has not done so, said Gar Smith, a Leonie spokesman.

Jason Fandrich, an attorney for Chidiac, called the accusations in the lawsuit frivolous and without merit.

The Pentagon declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Lawsuit: Propaganda firm owner boasted of online smears

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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  • waetherman

    A smear campaign against USA Today? Why bother?

    • Brainspore

      Exactly! If you’re going to mount a smear campaign against the media, at least go after a real newspaper.

    • wrybread

      Maybe the smears consisted of calling it a serious newspaper?

    • BillStewart2012

      Lots of people run smear campaigns against the New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, or other mouthpieces of the Establishment\\\\ Liberal MainStream Media. 

      Nobody’s really done much with USA Today since “We’re Eating More Beets”, which was relatively friendly.

  • Jorpho

    For a second there I thought I had stumbled into another Javascript-generated post.

    “Company secrets related to waterproofing Iphones” ?  Really?

  • Ito Kagehisa

    The hazards of naming your boy Sue?