The Real Net Effect: The Strange Cases of The Cyber-Hoaxers in Syria and Uzbekistan (Doherty & Kendzior)

Tom MacMaster, the real "Gay Girl in Damascus"On July 28, 2011, a 32-year-old Uzbek woman studying in Munich named Gulsumoy Abdujalilova joined Facebook, except she didn't. Then, earlier this month, after horrific abuses from the Uzbekistan government, she tragically and spectacularly took her own life, except she didn't, because she had never existed in the first place.

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Public Relations Special: Bell Pottinger's "Reform" Image for Uzbekistan

See also Bahrain Opinion: "Loonies" and The Sins of Bell Pottinger
Bahrain Special: 4 More Revelations about Qorvis, the Regime's PR Firm

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We have been reporting on the work of public relations firm Bell Pottinger for regimes in Yemen and Bahrain, as well as carrying investigative journalism uncovering the company's claims of access to the highest figures in the British Government and its service for clients by planting and changing Wikipedia entries.

The Bureau for Investigative Journalism, which set up the fictional "Azimov Group" approached by the PR firm, has released Bell Pottinger's pitch for business, "Changing Perceptions of the Republic of Uzbekistan". Uzbekistan is the Central Asian country led by Islam Karimov, whose regime has been accused of widespread torture --- including the boiling alive of two detainees --- kidnapping, murder, rape by security forces, financial corruption, religious persecution, and censorship.

Or, as Bell Pottinger presents the challenge in the Introduction to the report, "Uzbekistan has serious reputational problems. On democracy, human rights, and child labour in the cotton fields, perceptions are strongly negative. Overcoming deep-rooted attitudes will not be easy."

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Bahrain, Uzbekistan (and Beyond) Special: Bell Pottinger, PR Agency for the Regimes, is Busted

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Since this summer, we have been closely following the story of the high-profile US and British public-relations agencies hired by the Bahraini regime to turn its line into "news" and "analysis". Others have caught onto the story: today Salon profiles Tom Squitieri, one of the most prominent --- in persistence, if not quality --- consultants posing as a journalist.

Now a combination of The Independent of London, the Bureau for Investigative Journalism, and blogger Tim Ireland have exposed the activities of one of Bahrain's choice agencies, Bell Pottinger, as it cleans up the images of regimes around the world. Among the revelations are Bell Pottinger's re-writing of Wikipedia entries for Bahrain in the service of the "right" narrative about the kingdom.

A personal note: I had the chance to chat with one of Bell Pottinger's top executives in October. With a straight face and determined line, he explained to me that the agency was pursuing "reform" through its work with the leaders of Yemen and Bahrain. If that effort stumbled, it was not for lack of effort and goodwill by Bell Pottinger; instead it was the failure of those like Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to follow through on the agency's advice. In Bahrain, the executive continued, Crown Prince Salman was the spearhead for political change, and Bell Pottinger would be failing --- in its service to him and to the greater good --- if it did not help him.

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