Barack Obama

And then there's this newest tidbit:

"Meet The PR Firm That Helped Vladimir Putin Troll The Entire Country"

...Using filings from the Justice Department, the non-profit ProPublica detailed last November how Ketchum helped place op-eds by "seemingly independent professionals" that praised Russia in outlets like CNBC and the Huffington Post, among others, without proper disclosure.

It is not unusual for a PR firm to work with a government. But Ketchum has been the subject of controversy not only in its work with Russia, but also with the U.S. government.

Ketchum was involved in high-profile controversies in 2004 and 2005. In both cases, the Government Accountability Office determined that Ketchum engaged in "covert propaganda" for the U.S. government.

In 2004, Ketchum produced prepackaged news stories featuring actors posing as journalists that touted Medicare changes under Bush’s prescription drug benefit program, without disclosing government as the source. And in 2005, Ketchum again produced prepackaged news stories around the No Child Left Behind Act.

There's more:

http://www.businessinsider.com/vladimir-putin-nyt-op-ed-ketchum-pr-2013-9#ixzz2ejAKeAlK

Courtesy of Cha:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110215880#post5

That was her reply to Tarheel Dem here:

I heard a fascinating report on NPR about the Russian PR firm that placed the op-ed. Quite interesting. I think they're based in DC. Essentially, they're Freedom Works, except they work for the Russians. Astroturfing anyone?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110215880#post2

All out of Cha's thread here in the BOG, which should be K&R'd. It has a lot of links:

Republicans Unite Behind Putin the Dictator In Order to Diss Obama

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1102&pid=15880