grelmar - 9:08 pm on Apr 7, 2009 (gmt 0)

greenleaves hit it on the head, really, but in case anyone is unsure how the mechanics of this works, let's spell it out (and it's an old recipe that's been used in a number of different media)

1. Megacorp A has a crappy Widget it needs to offload. It creates, then funds...

2. Offshore Obscure Numbered Company B, which acts as the traditional straw man, and hires...

3. Little Guy Blogger C, to write nice things about crappy Widget.

4. Consumer D gets screwed buying crappy Widget, complains to FTC.

5. FTC first looks at Megacorp A, who's army of lawyers says "we can't be held responsible for this, we offloaded the crappy Widget to an offshore company. Sue them."

6. FTC then goes for Offshore Obscure Company B. Strangely (not), by this time, Offshore Obscure Company B has vanished into the ether, along with any records connecting it to Megacorp A. However, for some strange reason, it kept a list of payouts to Little Guy Blogger C.

7. Screwed consumer is crying for blood, and the only target left is the poor schill who made the least amount of money off the whole thing, which is (you guessed it), Little Guy Blogger C.

8. Anvil of Law falls on Little Guy Blogger C.