Astroturfing and Qatar's World Cup
FA chief slams attacks made on blog set up by Qatar's PR Source: Channel 4 News Lobbyists for the state of Qatar set up a football blog that has attacked critics of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, including Greg Dyke, Gary Lineker, and journalists working for the Sunday Times. A Channel 4 News investigation has found that the British public relations and lobbying firm Portland Communications set up the site without declaring any interest on the site or elsewhere. ( Video ) As well as attacking critics, the site has sought to influence public opinion and whitewash the controversial decision to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup, with articles such as "Winter Wonderplan", which makes the case for the Qatar 2022 World Cup being held in winter. The only named authors on the site are former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell and his son Rory, who have both written for The Pressing Game, a site that poses as a normal sports blog. Alastair Campbell sat on ...