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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Russian Bloggers Do Mass Attack Against Pharma Scam On Elderly |
| 2007-11-09 |
| Over the past few weeks thousands of Russian bloggers have united to combat a pharmaceutical scam that tried to persuade Russian pensioners to spend around half of their annual pension on a course of Gravikol 21 - ‘anti-arthritis’ drugs that were actually little more than vitamin pills. In the course of their campaign, Russia’s bloggers have not only publicised the scam nationwide, they’ve forced the notoriously unresponsive Russian government to act. In perhaps the most startling expression of their offline power, Russia’s bloggers made 21 million (!) phone calls to the offending company’s switchboard, forcing it into meltdown. The story has hardly been heard outside of Russia - try a Google News search for Gravikol, if you don’t believe me - but it will fundamentally alter perceptions of how Russian bloggers can influence Russian public life... |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #4 This reminds me of the Minnesota spam-merchant who boasted of his career in a Minneapolis paper. He stated that he was building a multi-million dollar mansion in the suburbs. Unfortunately for him, only one house of that description was being built in the area, and he was easily identified. So, a bunch of offended programmers signed hum up for every available newsletter, magazine, advertising campaign, and charity. He was getting truckloads of mail every day. |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2007-11-09 20:57 |
| #3 UM, thought about it too, but putting that genie back in the bottle may not be possible. Any crackdown attempt would be only temporary and ways around it would be found. |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2007-11-09 08:19 |
| #2 expect a crack down on blogging to commence. |
| Posted by: Unutle McGurque8861 2007-11-09 06:17 |
| #1 Gravikol, sounds dead on. Like Ricola. Good on ya russkiye bloggeri! |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2007-11-09 01:22 |