The blog, Essential Estrogen, is published by Iowa Independent reporter Lynda Waddington.
Lynda just published a feature for the Iowa Independent on…
… 5WPR's online identity theft and sockpuppeting. Here is a bit of the piece:
…In addition to the postings at FailedMessiah.com and other Jewish blogs, Engelmayer also used a home account to impersonate the grassroots Jewish organization Uri L'Tzedek on Essential Estrogen. The comment, made in response to an article detailing the indictment of two Agriprocessors' supervisors, was the full text of the Uri L'Tzedek press release that lifted the group's boycott on Rubashkin labels. The comment was posted nearly 10 hours after another thread had already announced the boycott being lifted.
Jim Fallon, a person to which Agriprocessors management had previously directed press inquiries, told Iowa Independent that his firm, CMA, had not had communications with the company for nearly three weeks.
"CMA is not involved with any public relations activities involving Agriprocessors' online presence," Fallon wrote in e-mail. "Our role was to help the company communicate the activities and decision made to enhance its immigration compliance in response to the ICE worksite enforcement action. We have not been engaged in any communications activities with Agriprocessors since July 1, 2008."
Although Menachem Lubinsky, a spokesman for Agriprocessors and chief executive officer of the kosher industry consulting firm Lubicom, originally told The Jewish Forward that he expected 5W to deal with "negative publicity and blogs," he had no such comments when contacted by Iowa Independent.
"My firm has been and is still doing public relations work for Agriprocessors, and we are the contact for media inquiries," Lubinsky wrote in an e-mail. "On the subject of 5WPR, the company will have no further information on this subject."
Rosenberg's research into the IP addresses used to post comments on his blog indicates that at least 40 comments were made from computers on the 5W network. In addition to Allen, two other individuals known to that blogging community were impersonated.
"On the subject of 5WPR, the company will have no further information on this subject." What does this mean? That 5W is no longer working for Agriprocessors?
Of course not.
It just means Lubinsky and Rubashkin are refusing to comment on 5WPR's continued role as Agriprocessors' hit men.
The post that broke the story.
The post that broke the story, part 2.
Agriprocessors / Rubashkin mistreatment of workers and related issues.
Rubashkin / Agriprocessors index page.
Previous 5W Scandal Posts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 & 21.