GoKawiilParamount Caught Using ‘Astroturf’ Group To Drum Up Fake Support For Merger
from the desperate-measures dept
We’ve well established how the $111 billion Paramount and Warner Brothers merger is terrible for labor, creatives, consumers, and markets. But the kind of behaviors Paramount leadership have been engaged in to sell the deal also give a pretty clear indication what kind of company we’re dealing with, and why they shouldn’t be allowed to control an even bigger slice of U.S. media.
Recent desperate moves by the company include accusing all deal critics of being “antisemitic,” threatening to take Paramount out of California if states attempt to enforce U.S. antitrust laws, and running press leak and PR campaigns (in close collaboration with their Trump allies) making all sorts of patently false claims as to why more media consolidation is great for America.
Paramount’s also been caught using an “astroturf” — or fake grass roots organization — to try and make it appear that the giant merger has more public support than it does.
The Intercept notes that the company has been employing the use of a nonprofit named Neighbors for Strong Communities to bombard California residents with text messages urging them to pressure on California AG Rob Bonta to drop his antitrust lawsuit against the company, claiming that enforcing antitrust law will be bad for Californians:
“In text messages to Californians that went out earlier this week, Neighbors for Strong Communities asked recipients to send Bonta messages raising the concern that his opposition to the merger will cost the state thousands of jobs — because of Ellison’s reported threat to move Paramount to Texas.”
In reality, mergers like this — particularly when involving Warner Brothers — have a long history of resulting in mass layoffs, higher prices, and lower-quality product as the merged company tries to pay down debt from the deal. There’s also nothing stopping Ellison from offshoring film and TV production if the deal is approved, continuing an existing trend for Hollywood.
A coalition of consumer rights groups under the banner of the Committee For The First Amendment (which actually defends consumers and discloses its funding) say the astroturf group was only formed three months ago by industry lobbyists and refuses to disclose its donors:
“The sender organization’s website is less than three months old. It discloses no founders, board members, staff, or funders, and the organization does not appear in ProPublica’s nonprofit database. Its newly updated address (1902-A Lincoln Blvd, Suite 1314, Santa Monica, CA) is a private PO Box at a UPS store. These are classic hallmarks of a corporate-backed astroturf campaign designed to manufacture the appearance of grassroots opposition.”
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