“It had the makings of an online crisis that could spiral out of control. A man in Tianjin had put a deposit on a Toyota ™ Corolla, then started venting on the Internet when the car failed to show up after three months. Given the anti-Japan sentiment that rages in China’s cyberspace, the griping created a big risk for Toyota…”

Positive public relations seems even more essential in Chinese internet than elsewhere. As such, PR companies have started paying for positive reviews of clients and negative reviews of competitors. Will the Chinese wiseup and realize they’re being advertised to and their perceptions manipulated on the internet, as well as everywhere else?

read more | digg story