08.04.09
“Mr Dee” from CNET Received Laptop Gift/Bribe from Microsoft
Summary: Another supposedly anonymous commenter is exposed
SOME time ago we wrote about the suspicion that “Mr Dee”, who is prolifically posting sympathetic comments about Microsoft and hostile towards its competition, is in fact a pseudonym of Andre Da Costa, whom Microsoft gave a very expensive laptop for his comprehensive 'services' (in CNET alone, it’s 1260 comments and counting). The laptop is highly valuable where he lives and this is important to those who wish to expose Microsoft AstroTurfing. Perhaps under increased pressure and after overwhelming evidence supplied by Goblin, it is now confirmed by Andre Da Costa himself that he is also “Mr Dee”. As Goblin put it a few hours ago, “So Andre Da Costa has (finally) admitted to posting under another handle on Cnet (Mr Dee)…I wonder why? [...] You can see his confession on his Twitter. Question is, why have two Cnet commenting accounts? [...] At least this latest confession was made by him an not an alleged “friend” (remember the laptop “gift” incident) [...] I think this can be another example I can include in my submissions to the FTC.“
“We are always getting closer to a complete presentation of how Microsoft tames conversations on the Web.”There is another important exposé coming because AstroTurf marketing is against the law in Europe (and more recently the United states). There is a lot more where that came from.
Meanwhile we also learn that Microsoft carries on with its usual behaviour at Twitter [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Here is a FOSS company being ‘befriended’ by yet another Microsoft account. Sometimes it’s just Microsoft TEs who aggressively promote Microsoft to them.
We are always getting closer to a complete presentation of how Microsoft tames conversations on the Web. Here is “Mr Dee” enjoying the expensive gift Microsoft shipped him (pictures of his Acer Ferrari 5000). █
Related:
- LawMedia Group May be Another Confirmed Microsoft AstroTurfing Agency
- The Microsoft Connection with Dewey Square Group and DCI/New Media
- Microsoft ‘Bribes’ Mac Bloggers to Slam Apple, Gartner Hosts Google FUD
- Microsoft, TCS, DCI, Edelman, and Those Fake Letters About IP/SCO/Monopoly
- James Plamondon: Microsoft Guerrilla
- FullSIX and Mr. Youth LLC May Be Ruining the Web (AstroTurfing) on Microsoft’s Behalf
- Microsoft: 800 lb. Guerrilla
- Astroturfing Examples: Learning How Microsoft Tames the Internet
- Waggener Edstrom, Maureen O’Gara and Other Microsoft Shills
- Partial Index: Summary of Bribed Sites, Journalists, and Bloggers (Vista 7)
- Waggener-Edstrom Behind the 2008 Laptop Bribes, Edelman Behind 2006’s
- Manipulation, Astroturfing, and What Governments Can Do
- Beware the OOXML AstroTurfer: “The Wraith”, “multivac1”, “hAl”, Among Other Nyms
- Microsoft May Have Bribed India for OOXML Pressure
- Microsoft Has Been Rigging Votes/Polls for Ages
- Gary M. Stewart (aka “Flatfish”) About Microsoft AstroTurfing: “It’s made me A LOT of money….”
- Former Microsoft Shill Openly Confesses, Alleges Microsoft Still Does This
- Respecting AstroTurfers?
- Some New (But Very Old) Microsoft AstroTurfing Examples
- Joe Barr, Linux.com Editor – My Obituary
- Joe Barr Knew Microsoft’s Tactics All Too Well
- 66 Pages of Microsoft Evilness
- Another AstroTurf Scam Exposed?
- Quick Mention: Sony is AstroTurfing, Just Like Microsoft
- Memo to Novell: Leave YouTube Alone
- Microsoft Blast from the Past: Ads Banned for Spurring Violence
- Is YouTube’s “NovellVideo” a Novell AstroTurfer?
- Microsoft/Munchkin ‘Breaks’ the Web to Break Open Document Standards (Again)
- Rob Enderle Guarantees “Amazing Numbers”, Show E-mails to Microsoft
- Microsoft Agents from Waggener Edstrom Airbrush Wikipedia, Glorify Paymaster
- Microsoft Unleashes Proxies at Journalists to Defend Vulnerable Vista
- Microsoft’s OOXML Viral Marketing Reaches YouTube
Chips B. Malroy said,
August 4, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Actually Andre Da Costa has been cited and used as a source in Cnet articles, while also posting as user “Mr. Dee” in some articles. He has also been used as a source in articles on the Seattle PI Microsoft reporting site as well. While some may see him as only a 3rd world person trying to get a few “freebies,” from MS and MS and HP, he is most likely, much more than that.
A quick search of Google for his name reveals the depth of his posting, he is either Andre Da Costa, adacosta, or Mr. Dee on so many MS related sites. The 1400 comments on Cnet are just a drop in the bucket from this M$ Shill. If he uses these nym’s, or sockpuppets, for a better word, there are most likely other names that he uses that are not known yet. But clearly, someone who most likely has 50K of comments on the internet, related to MS or its competitors, is not your normal garden variety M$ Fanboy. Most likely, but hard to prove, is he is paid to post.
Dragging the truth out of people like this is like pulling Nails, or rather spikes from hardwood. When you got the truth, and he admitted it, he became very combative, and used namecalling. Not that much difference between him and flatfish on that score. Its one reason to use a sock puppet, is that the Shill can be a whole lot more nasty in his attacks. As in the case of Mr. Dee if you read some of his comments.
The problem I find with Andre, is he aspires to be a MS reporter, like those on CNET, MS Watch, ZDNET, etc. Is it ethical, for someone like Andre who is most likely a M$ Mole, to get one of these jobs? Its seems that is what he is being groomed for.
This is just my opinion, and my opinion alone.