Anne Landman joined the DeSmog team as a Fellow in November 2012. From 1999-2006, Anne Landman worked as a tobacco document research specialist, and published several studies on tobacco industry behavior in medical journals. She has testified against the tobacco industry, and served as a national and international speaker on corporate PR strategies and tactics. After observing similarities between the way the tobacco industry operates and the PR strategies and behaviors other big industries are now adopting, since 2006 Anne’s interests have expanded to corporate, government and political PR strategies, including tactics like greenwashing, pinkwashing, healthwashing, greedwashing, use of front groups and so-called “corporate social responsibility.” From 2006 until 2012 she worked for the Center for Media and Democracy, publisher of PRWatch.org and SourceWatch.org. While there, she started SourceWatch’s Tobacco portal and served as Managing Editor of PRWatch and SourceWatch.
Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed. In promoting climate change denial (and often denying their responsibility for doing so) industry has done more than endanger the environment. It has undermined democracy.
There is a vast difference between putting forth a point of view, honestly held, and intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion. Free speech does not include the right to deceive. Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness.
