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Pro-Reform Group Goes After Insurers' Facebook Astroturfing
Rachel Slajda | December 11, 2009, 6:33PM
Two of HCAN's Facebook ads
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After a health insurer group was caught bribing Facebook users with virtual cash to write anti-health care letters to Congress, a prominent health care supporter is trying to turn the stunt against them.
Health Care for America Now tells TPM it has taken out ads on the Facebook game Mafia Wars, calling out the group for its astroturfing.
The ads read, "Insurance companies are bribing players on Mafia Wars & Farmville to claim that they oppose health care reform. Join us and fight back!" The ads will run in "liberal cities," HCAN says.
The insurers' group, "Get Health Reform Right," had offered virtual money that players used in the games. But players could only get the play cash if they filled out a form opposing the current health care reform bills.
The group was made up of several insurers' groups, including America's Health Insurance Plans and BlueCross BlueShield.
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AirBoss
December 12, 2009 6:27 PM
Vile to the max.
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benintn
December 12, 2009 6:39 PM
What's worse is that Sen. Bob Bennett was on the Senate floor today, using the exact same text as these astroturfers to claim that "I have a stack of emails from people who say" what the astroturfers want them to say.
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mandolinist
December 13, 2009 3:55 PM
And yet this story hasn't knocked Tiger Woods off as the top story of the day! Not a word of this on the morning news shows today.
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raiatean
December 14, 2009 1:19 AM
God Damn!!!! What is wrong with all of you stupid sons of bitches? You stupid mother effers take "Play Cash" to write a fucking letter to your various representatives in support of the drug and insurance companies to play a fucking game or two on the internet? It's shit like this that tell me I made the correct choice over a quarter century ago when I became French.... Keep it up, you spinning yourselves into oblivion and I for one will not be unhappy if the whole country disappears... You are really a bunch of retarded, sick, puppies!
Just this old Chief's 2¢
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Tosh
May 16, 2010 5:11 PM
The ads read, "Insurance companies are bribing players on Mafia Wars & Farmville to claim that they oppose health care reform. Join us and fight back!" The ads will run in "liberal cities," HCAN says.
The insurers' group, "Get Health Reform Right," had offered virtual money that players used in the games. But players could only get the play cash if they filled out a form opposing the current health care reform bills.
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