Health Insurers Bribe Facebook Gamers to Oppose Reform Bill
Via The Business Insider: Health insurance industry trade groups opposed to President Obama's health care reform bill are paying Facebook users fake money -- called "virtual currency" -- to send letters to Congress protesting the bill.
Facebook users addicted to social games, and eager to accelerate their progress, often buy “virtual goods” — such as a machine gun for “Mafia Wars” — with “virtual currency”.
One of the ways to acquire this currency is by accepting offers from third-parties, usually companies who agree to give the gamer virtual currency so long as that gamer agrees to try a product or service.
According to The Business Insider, an anti-reform group called “Get Health Reform Right” was recently caught paying gamers virtual currency for their support. Instead of asking the gamers to try a product, “Get Health Reform Right” requires gamers to take a survey, which, upon completion, automatically sends the following email to their Congressional Rep:
“I am concerned a new government plan could cause me to lose the employer coverage I have today. More government bureaucracy will only create more problems, not solve the ones we have.”
While not apparently illegal, this practice is obviously ethically problematic.
Disturbing.
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