Active Measures and Scandal

Do MNCs use Soviet propaganda techniques to improve damage control?

When MNCs find themselves in hot water, it does not seem to be an unfair assumption that preservation of their profits is a high priority. Damage control is thereby also a high priority. Damage control involves the spreading of a message, that counters or otherwise softens the repercussions of the truth. In terms of expertise for spreading counter-information, few have the prowess and experience that could even begin to match Russia/The Soviet Union (except maybe the USA). The KGB and its successor, the FSB have maintained efforts to spread misinformation since their inception through a program called “Active Measures” and its successor programs (US Information Agency 1992). Currently one of the most effective “Active Measures” is the international TV network Russia Today (RT). This widely available TV channel, (not) so secretly funded (Pisnia 2017) by the FSB is a pristine example of how to effectively spread misinformation, through the use of some of the key tenants for doing this as developed through the “Active Measures” program. RT very effectively showcases one of the key tenants for creating plausible misinformation, through wrapping the misinformation around a “kernel of truth”. The kernel of truth in RT’s case is the accurate, high quality reporting they tend to do on a daily basis. The misinformation is mixed in between this high quality reporting so as to create an air of truth. Denial is another key facet of “Active Measures” as exemplified by Vladimir Putin’s consistent and unforgiving denial of things that would otherwise seem trivially obvious such as the “Little Green Men” invasion of Crimea and even denied that flight MH-17 was shot down by a surface to air missile system supplied to pro-Russian separatists by Russia but instead claimed it was shot down by Ukrainian fighter jets. To many of us in the west, such denial seems pointless but it creates enough doubt for plausible deniability to exist.

We move then from Soviet/Russian propaganda to scandalous MNCs and specifically Nestle and its baby formula scandal. Did Nestle, inadvertently or otherwise, use at least some of the core tenants of “Active Measures” in an attempt to subvert the truth and protect profits? Anecdotally, it seems plausible. Beginning with the mixing of misinformation around a kernel of truth. Nestle payed nurses or actors pretending to be them, to be go into hospitals and spread the notion that formula was better for infants than their mother’s milk. So wrapped around a kernel of truth, namely, the medical authority and bearer of truth that the title of nurse can bestow upon someone (especially in LDC’s where common medical knowledge is unlikely to be strong). Through this technique of sewing truth and lies into the same narrative, and then using denial to create enough doubt, Nestle can be seen to have carried out a very effective Soviet style campaign.

We see then that MNC’s are able to, inadvertently or otherwise create truthful narratives with misinformation woven in combined with the outward denial from the MNC itself that anything is going on, in essence recreates a soviet style misinformation campaign that can be remarkably effective. In the case of Nestle, we see the effectiveness through the lens that not only do they still operate as the same corporate entity, but their profits grow on a year to year basis. In concluding, we see that propaganda, like many other things, is no longer and has not been for some time, a proprietary function of the nation state, but rather a tool for any organization to use to advance their interests.

Bibliography

Pisnia, N. (2017, November 15). Why has RT registered as a foreign agent with the US? Retrieved April 3, 2019, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41991683

US Information Agency. (1992, June). Soviet Active Measures in the “Post-Cold War” Era 1988-1991. Retrieved April 3, 2019, from http://intellit.muskingum.edu/russia_folder/pcw_era/index.htm#Contents

It is not so often news surrounding Canadian politics manage to outshine the proverbial black hole known as the US political news cycle. The still growing SNC-Lavalin scandal is one of the few Canadian news items that seem to have enough staying power to overcome what can sometimes feel like an American monopoly of our news cycles. As this not SNC’s time in the spotlight, one begins to wonder why it is so adept seemingly at attracting the wrong sort of publicity.

To give some context to SNC-Lavalin, it is prudent to understand what SNC does in  in operational terms besides bribing the sons of Libyan dictators with lavish Toronto condo renovations and attempting to influence the highest levels of Canadian government. SNC-Lavalin’s core lies in its engineering procurement and project management business. In total SNC has over 50,000 employees spread over offices in 50 countries and further operations in 160 total countries, making it a true MNC as defined in this class. This scale of operations makes SNC one of the largest engineering/construction firms in the world, rivaling giants like the infamous Bechtel corporation.

Both Bechtel and SNC are infamous for their roles in many different scandals, so the question must be asked, is there something about the engineering/construction management sectors that makes them so prone to scandalous behaviour? Perhaps something in regards to the nature of FDI within this sector causes these continuous problems. When one analyzes the types of projects that these firms are bidding on, it is often large public sector projects in LDC’s. LDC’s are often more vulnerable to corruption and bribery and as such it is not necessarily a leap why these firms could get used to operating in ways that their home countries see as antithetical to good business practices. SNC for example, has bid and and won a sizable number of construction projects in India and Libya stretching back from the early 1990s till around 2014. many of these projects were later accused of involving bribery, infamously in regards to their attempts to woo Muammar Gaddafi’s son through, among other things, the aforementioned renovations of his downtown Toronto condo, were valued at over $200,000.

Anecdotally, the business practices that became successful for these firms overseas and then later or perhaps unilaterally with the home nation-state, resulted in the accusations of corporate misconduct. While much more evidence is needed, perhaps the poor track record especially of SNC-Lavalin could be explained by a very different operational environment abroad when it was conducting FDI and other forms of international business. The business may have correctly adapted to a very different method of doing business where there is less oversight and the state’s are more vulnerable. SNC may then have begun to use the same rulebook in places where oversight was stronger and the state’s more able tolerate corporation’s allure, as in the case of its home market of Canada.

Sources:

STEAMROLLED: A Special Investigation into the Diplomacy of Doing Business Abroad.