Lie #7: Wal-Mart Has Grassroots Support
"Working Families for Wal-Mart is committed to fostering open and honest dialogue with elected officials, opinion makers and community leaders that conveys the positive contributions of Wal-Mart to working families." – Working Families for Wal-Mart Organizational Website [forwalmart.com, 2/28/06]
Katherine Smith, a member of the Working Families for Wal-Mart national steering committee, said the group might have started with a mandate from Wal-Mart but ''it has grown its own legs and it's happening organically.'' [New York Times, 5/12/06]
The Truth:
Wal-Mart’s Working Families group exposed. “Many of Wal-Mart’s political consultants came on board after Wal-Mart hired PR giant Edelman last year. Edelman has been a controversial force in Wal-Mart’s image-boosting ef¬forts. Last December, the firm formed the advocacy group Working Families for Wal-Mart, paid for solely by Wal-Mart, to counter criticism from the union-funded groups Wal-Mart Watch and WakeUpWalMart.com. The Working Families group has been at the center of several notable maelstroms swirling around Wal-Mart.” [BusinessWeek, 10/31/06]
Wal-Mart’s fake blog exposed. “For worse? A blog praising Wal-Mart called “Wal-Marting Across America,” ostensibly created by a man and a woman traveling the country in an RV and staying in Wal-Mart parking lots, turned out to be underwritten by Working Families for Wal-Mart, a company-sponsored group organized by the Edelman public relations firm. Not cool.” [Fortune, 10/18/06]
Wal-Mart’s public relations firm apologizes for Wal-Mart blog disclosure omission. “Edelman CEO Richard Edelman today issued an apology for his agency’s role in creating a blog for client Wal-Mart that did not properly disclose its origins or funding. . . The blog, walmartingacrossamerica.com, chronicled a couple’s journey across the country in an RV while stopping at various Wal-Mart parking lots. Although the blog did not initially bear any clear disclosures outside of an advertisement, the trip was funded by the group Working Families for Wal-Mart [WFWM], a Wal-Mart-backed organization designed to promote a positive portrayal of the company. The group is part of Edelman’s effort to turn around the reputation of the controversial retailer.” [PR Week, 10/17/06]
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