BP's PR troll on the huffington post unmasked

A few weeks ago I was reading comments on the huffington post and came across this comment to a Georgianne Nienaber article on how BP is attempting to restrict access to reporters.

"I am serving at the Unified Command as part of the Deepwater Horizon Response effort.

A few weeks ago, we announced that boom vandalism was becoming a significant issue in our on-water effectiveness (here is the release and PSA: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/671091/). Unfortunately, vandalism of boom has not stopped, despite our best efforts. Action was required to ensure our operations achieve maximum effectiveness. As a result, the Coast Guard introduced a safety zone around boom to prevent vandalism and to protect the members and equipment of the response effort by limiting access to, and through, deployed protective boom. Here the release that announced the safety zone: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/726955/ .

I wanted to offer some additional thoughts:

- The safety zone in no way limits legitimate access to areas around boom and spill operations. Media has NEVER been denied access.

- The safety zone that has been established for the Deepwater Horizon Response was created specifically to provide a regulatory means to prosecute people who are vandalizing boom.

- Boom has been placed to protect areas that are vital to a Louisiana way of life. People who intentionally cut or purposely damage boom are harming our ability to effectively keep oil out of areas that are environmentally sensitive.

Please let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything additional information I can provide. Again, media requests have not been denied.

Petty Officer Rachel Polish
Deepwater Horizon Response "

Never one to take anything at face value, I did a little checking and discovered that Petty Officer Rachel Polish was actually a reservist. Her day job was working for PR firm Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Ogilvy PR).

http://www.ogilvy.com/News/Press-Releases/July-2009-Rachel-Polish-Appointment.aspx

Guess who one of their clients are....wait for it....you guessed it..BP.

http://www.ogilvypr.com/en/case-study/bp

I passed this info along to Georgianne Nienaber and she put out an outstanding article that is a must read!

Not only is Rachel a spin doctor, but her specialty is digital media and social networking. Here is an insight into her (and her associates) views from "Navigation in Today’s Global-Mobile-Social World: From a PR Perspective" on April 15


Beware the trolls...If there is one, there are many others lurking about.