Monsanto is complaining about a deceptive web page and hoax news about GM maize being released in Mexico.

It needs to be remembered, though, that Monsanto and its PR people have a history of deceptive websites and hoaxes - and some of that fakery targeted scientists investigating the impact of their GM maize in Mexico: http://ngin.tripod.com/deceit_index.html.

1.Design Fiction: political hoax attacks Monsanto
2.Monsanto hoax site should be investigated, company says

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1. Design Fiction: political hoax attacks Monsanto
Bruce Sterling
Wired, August 16 2013
http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2013/08/design-fiction-political-hoax-attacks-monsanto/

*It’s important to draw a clear ethical line between “design fictions” and deliberate hoaxes — because, in the way they’re invented, created, and spread, they’re practically identical.

*Maybe I should thank Monsanto for the spam in my inbox that brought this intervention hoax to my attention ... but wait! It appears that this email is NOT from Monsanto at all, but is a further, double-your-bet hoax intended to make it LOOK LIKE Monsanto is somehow disturbed by obscure Mexican pranksters…

*This would appear to be the actual Monsanto speaking on the subject:

http://monsantoblog.com/category/monsanto-news/

“Earlier today, an unidentified cyber group developed and posted a deceptive web page called www.monsantoglobal.com designed to appear as though it was posted by Monsanto. This page and its related communications, including fake news releases entitled “Mexico Grants Monsanto Approval To Plant Large-Scale GM Corn Fields” and “Monsanto Denounces “Activists” for Hoax Release” are intentional misrepresentations (((oh dear me))) and are not in any way associated with our company. Monsanto has not issued a press release on the hoax. (((<—-)))

“Monsanto regrets any confusion or inconvenience caused by this hoax. Information on this hoax web site and its related communication properties has been turned …” (((As you can see, “design fictions” merely “suspend disbelief” for some limited period, while hoaxes strew the broken glass of wicked deception in the sandy beach of media.)))

(((The phony press release pretending to correct the deceit reads as follows.)))

PRESS RELEASE

Spanish version below /Version en español abajo

Monsanto Denounces “Activists” For Hoax Release
Aug 14, 2013

Earlier today a fraudulent press release was issued alleging that Monsanto had received a permit to plant 250,000 hectares of GM corn in Northern Mexico. While Monsanto does expect to receive such a permit in the near future, as the first step in more extensive plans, one has not yet been issued.

The release was the work of a group of international students and activists calling themselves “Sin Maíz No Hay Vida” (“Without Corn There Is No Life”). Besides spreading misinformation about the permit, the group’s release falsely announced a digital repository of Mexican customs allegedly endangered by GM corn. They also announced a fictitious Monsanto “vault” to store all the native varieties of corn that GM varieties would supposedly render unviable.

“The action of the group is fundamentally misleading,” said Janet M. Holloway, Chief of Community Relations for Monsanto. “The initiatives they put forth are unfeasible, and their list of demands is peppered with hyperbolic buzzwords like "sustainability", "culture", and "biodiversity".”

“Only ecologists prioritize biodiversity over real-world concerns,” said Dr. Robert T. Fraley, who oversees Monsanto’s integrated crop and seed agribusiness technology and research worldwide. “Commercial farmers know that biodiversity means having to battle weeds and insects. That means human labor, and human labor means costs and time that could be spent otherwise.”

“Monsanto is committed to helping commercial farmers transform their land into the most economically sustainable product possible,” said Fraley. “With Monsanto’s GM corn, no longer will nature’s invasive biodiversity diminish the economic returns of our customers.”

“The very name of the activists’ group shows where they’re wrong,” said Holloway. “In many parts of the world, there is no corn, yet life exists everywhere. And in any case, Monsanto is dedicated to increasing available corn supplies.” (((I’m smelling the over-cooperative rhetoric of the “Yes Men” at work here.)))

Extensive research and experience confirm that transgenic technology is not destructive, but rather judiciously adds new species to an already abundant bioscape. “There is a vast profusion of corn species in Mexico, but most of them have little or no commercial viability,” said Fraley. “We celebrate the cultural and biological heritage of Mexico, but the production of real wealth requires that people be open to new technologies, no matter how significantly they break from the past.”

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About Monsanto Company

Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world’s natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: www.monsanto.com.

Follow our business on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MonsantoCo, on the company blog, Beyond the Rows at www.monsantoblog.com, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed. “Silvia Schacht de Miranda” and “Lester Cortez” do not exist. (((What? How did that get in there?)))

For further information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
SOURCE Monsanto Company

[Spanish text follows - go to Wired for this, see link above]

*Meanwhile, over at what seems, or would appear to be, hoaxster central:

Welcome!

Sin Maíz No Hay Vida is a group of activists working against GMOs’ invasion of Mexico. We are fighting to save corn, the most produced crop in the world, which also requires human intervention for its reproduction. We are fighting to save biological and cultural diversity in Mesoamerica and the world.

We have the opportunity to prevent the massacre of corn in Mexico. If they tell you you’re going to die but then give you another chance to change the circumstances, you will take advantage of the opportunity; but if they tell you you’re dead there’s nothing more to do and, therefore, no hope. Let’s take this second chance to save corn from the threat of GMOs.

GMO corn has been proven to cause illness in humans and animals. In addition, other strains of corn can easily become cross-pollinated with Monsanto’s patented GMO corn. Farmers must then pay Monsanto to plant the seeds from their own corn crop because it contains DNA which has been patented by Monsanto! This effectively means that even farmers who want nothing to do with GMO corn will find their crop producing Monsanto corn and be forced to either pay Monsanto, go through a long and costly process of decontaminating their land, or be deprived of their livelihood. Corn is the cultural heritage of Mexico and is central to many indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica. There are hundreds of strains of corn which are in danger of being replaced by Monsanto’s GMO corn.

Our “fake” press release on behalf of Monsanto unmasks the politicans that would sell Mexico’s heritage of corn to Monsanto, and also unmasks the company that only has its own economic interests in mind. Permission to plant GMO corn in Mexico is currently being debated in the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food. There is still time to stop the invasion of Monsanto’s devastating corn and preserve the biological and cultural diversity of Mexico.

Estos son algunos grupos que luchan contra los transgénicos:

These are some groups fighting GMOs:

iINVOLÚCRATE!

GET INVOLVED!

Occupy Monsanto
Monsanto Video Revolt
México Libre de Transgénicos
Stop Monsanto in Mexico
Carnaval del Maíz
Rechazo internacional a la siembra de maíz transgénico en México
Red por una America Latina Libre de Transgénicos
Sin Maiz no hay País
Stop Trans-Pacific Partnership
Unión de Científicos Comprometidos con la Sociedad (UCCS)
Viva la Milpa

Para sugerir grupos para esta lista, escríbenos.

To suggest groups for the list, write to us.

Share this (((social media ensues)))
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2. Monsanto hoax site should be investigated, company says
E.B. Solomont
St. Louis Business Journal, August 14 2013
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/2013/08/monsanto-hoax-site-should-be.html

There’s been a lot written lately about Monsanto’s love ‘em or hate ‘em reputation.

And Wednesday was no exception.

Earlier in the day, an unidentified group put up a fake Monsanto website, www.monsantoglobal.com, which included fake press releases.

“Monsanto has at long last obtained permission to plant GM corn on a commercial scale in Mexico,” a post on the hoax site said.

By late afternoon, Monsanto officials said information on the website and its related communication properties “has been turned over to the appropriate authorities...”

In a post on its blog, Beyond the Rows, officials said the website contained “intentional misrepresentations” of the $13.5 billion company.

“Monsanto recognizes that the online forum is a place for spirited discussion about many topics and many companies, including our own,” the post read. “Unfortunately, Monsanto sees web site hoaxes such as an attempt to disrupt that discussion, and to broadcast false and misleading information about our company.”

Monsanto, headquartered in Creve Coeur, is led by Chairman and CEO Hugh Grant, who talked about sitting in the hot seat in a recent profile in Barron’s. “Some days are rougher than others,” he said.