Utility planted 'citizens' to support restart of reactors [Japan]

[PoliticAverse]

Source: Kyodo News

FUKUOKA — About 50 Kyushu Electric Power Co. employees and affiliates were involved in attempting to orchestrate an email campaign, posing as ordinary citizens, in support of the restart of its nuclear reactors on a government-sponsored TV program, according to an internal investigation by the utility.

The staged emails account for about a fifth of all supportive opinions received in the program aired in late June, according to sources informed about the investigation. The number of those involved may increase as the investigation is still ongoing.

At a special committee on nuclear safety of the Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly Monday, Akira Nakamura, at the time head of the utility's nuclear power control department, said he was told by a supervisor to enliven discussions on the program, aimed at winning support for restarting two reactors at the Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture.


Read more: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110712a3.html

[truthisfreedom]

1. Sigh.

I'm so glad I don't live in Japan right now. Cripes.

[kristopher]

4. Here we have the Nuclear Energy Institute and the American Nuclear Society

In Europe there is the World Nuclear Association.

They are nuclear industry trade and lobbying organizations that have over the past 10 years created organized programs training industry employees and using hired social media PR experts to represent their product in every possible venue of communication.

Nuclear energy has a very strong level of support among only about 15-20% of the population, yet their message dominates every newspaper and online article about nuclear or renewable energy. Their message is coordinated and planned to promote nuclear and disparage renewables.

The Grassroots initiative was inspired by Former Governor John Sununu's participation in the ANS Winter meeting in 2002. Sununu emphasized the opportunities present when nuclear professionals enter the public debate. In March 2003, Sununu to meet with ANS leadership to discuss outreach strategies. With the introduction of next nuclear generation, ANS members must seek out receptive audiences and deliver positive messages about nuclear science and technology of the 21st century. Read more about the Sununu meeting at: http://www.ans.org/members/ansnews/docs/2003-03-04.pdf.

http://www.ans.org/pi/pros/member/comkit/planting.html

The goal of grassroots initiatives is to make certain that ANS is publicly recognized as a credible source of nuclear science and technology information. The Outreach program cultivates the current base of ANS membership in order to produce meaningful relationships with policy makers, opinion shapers and the general public.

When ANS members interact with their local leaders, neighbors, or children's teachers, they can make a lasting impact and help the public understand how nuclear keeps the lights on, offers better healthcare and improves our daily lives.

As a professional in the field, you can take advantage of your technical expertise to educate policy makers, opinion shapers, and the general public when issues that relate to your industry arise.

YOU can take advantage of current events to inform and teach - to serve as a facilitator for information...

http://www.ans.org/pi/pros/member/comkit/growing.html

As part of the ANS Grassroots initiative, you will help increase the society's visibility and reputation as the source for information on nuclear science and technology.

Familiarize yourself with the materials in this Communication Kit.
Share this information with your section.
Talk with friends and neighbors about nuclear science and technology issues.
Discuss the kinds of questions you might expect from policy makers and community members.
Brainstorm what those questions might be.
Utilize ANS resources and staff to find materials to support your answers to anticipated questions.
Check into the nuclear information relative to your state.
Learn about your elected officials. You can find vital information about their past votes and opinions of nuclear by contacting Doug Wasitis in the ANS Washington office.
Follow local newspaper coverage.
The Grassroots Initiative encourages you to reach out to three audiences in order to build positive public perception about nuclear science and technology.

http://www.ans.org/pi/pros/member/comkit/audiences.html

The ANS Public Information Committee is the official host of the meeting and exclusive sponsorship is provided by the Idaho National Laboratory.

This is the second time such a meeting has been held. At the 2009 ANS Winter Meeting held in Washington, D.C., last November, we had a informal and successful meet-up of 45 people interested in discussing social media.

The plan this year is to have an informal discussion about how social media, including blogs, instant messages, and web services are shaping public perceptions of the nuclear energy industry. Also, this is an opportunity to meet others who work with these tools in the nuclear industry.

"The social media initiatives undertaken by the American Nuclear Society over the past year have broadened ANS nuclear outreach efforts and engaged new audiences," said Candace Davison,

That is buried in the bowels of this blog: http://djysrv.blogspot.com/2010_10_31_archive.html

That is a small sampling to provide a glimpse of the scope of the effort this industry is engaged in.

The Japanese are amateurs. They still operate under the assumption that this type of industry misinformation campaign is a despicable breach of ethics.

[djysrv]

12. not a vast conspiracy

I'm the nuclear blogger who's content you cite djysrv.blogspot.com and I did indeed organize the social media meetings described in the post. These meetings were openly advertised on the Internet. All of this activity is funded for the most part outside of any influence of the nuclear industry. I put $100 of my own money into the third one just held in Florida this past June. So did a few other people to get the hotel to provide a cash bar and some chips/dips.

I'm sorry if you think it is part of some vast conspiracy. Nobody pays me to publish my blog, but people do read it. In the past 12 months it has logged over 200,000 page views.

And by the way most nuclear bloggers in the U.S. condemned the recent incident in which a nuclear utility in Japan had its workers pretend to be ordinary citizens in support of restart of the reactors.

We do not shy away from critical thinking about the industry. Want to read more? Follow @ans_org or @djysrv on Twitter for a realistic news feed.

[boppers]

13. Welcome to DU!

I think the problem, here, is that people don't realize the level of astroturfing, on all sides. Yes, pro-industry folks organize, and anti-industry folks organize, and both point fingers at the other....

Meanwhile, most people really don't give a shit.

[SpiralHawk]

2. Wow - sounds like it was modeled after Republicon SockPuppetry

Republicon Family Cesspool Values know no boundaries...

[neoralme]

3. Notorious liars.

[Demeter]

5. Not only did it NOT work, it was discovered as fraud

way to go, guys!

[bananas]

6. You just can't trust the nuclear industry. nt

[plumbob]

7. Lying is just a way of life in the nukular industry, if you can call a wholly

subsidized handout an industry. Never made a dime without the taxpayers providing all liability coverage and cleanups, as well as the dime.

Kill off these bastards now.

[pmorlan1]

8. Astroturf groups in Japan too

This reminds me of all of the astroturf groups that spring up here to support things that are against our best interests but great for corporations.

[freshwest]

9. So true. And they're not confused - they are being paid to email, write, talk, demonstrate. Sick.

[avaistheone1]

10. Those kind of groups should be illegal

[AndyTiedye]

11. What is "Astroturf" in Japanese?