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Microsoft Paying for Positive Xbox One Coverage on YouTube

Posted by Unknown on from the smell-of-fresh-cut-astroturf dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft, partnered with Machinima, has put forth a promotion for YouTube personalities: make a video about the Xbox One and get money for it. Problematically, they also require the reviewer not to disclose that they're getting paid (or mention anything negative), which breaks FTC disclosure rules (PDF). Microsoft has a well-known history of astroturfing, but is this the first proof of them doing it illegally?"

2 of 128 comments (clear)

  1. Re:And? by jones_supa · · Score: 4, Informative

    Maybe we can dedicate a whole website to the 1,000s of companies that do this type of thing.

    Don't know about a website, but at Wikipedia people have collected a list of astroturfing cases.

  2. Re:And? by Sockatume · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's not a fine line at all in many jurisdictions, where any paid promotion must be explicitly disclosed. The agreement quoted here includes a gagging clause that's in direct conflict with that.

    --
    No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?