Spinsanity's mission is to "use rigorous, non-partisan analysis to expose the use and intent of the simulated reason and public relations techniques that dominate political discourse, and to document how they are disseminated through the media.

The diet drug craze of the mid-1990s was fueled by cover-ups, misinformation and a multi-million-dollar PR machine, according to Dispensing with the Truth, a new book by Mediaweek's Washington bureau chief, Alicia Mundy. Burson-Marsteller, Edelman Medical Communications, Ogilvy Adams & Reinhart and Ketchum were among firms identified as part of a nearly $100 million public relations spin campaign "that would put presidential consultants to shame," writes Mundy.

This essay looks at a conservative website called www.freerepublic.com, which uses grassroots internet organizing to "pervert public polls" and "call and email congressional representatives en masse, thus creating the illusion of massive public pressure that twists the actions of elected officials. ...