Amazon Defense Coalition Smoke and Mirrors

As I’ve outlined in a previous post, Hinton Communications does an exceptional job of flooding the internet with phony press and news releases about the Amazon Defense Coalition.  In one of the best articles written on this phony organization titled, “Amazon Defense Coalition A Fake Company Created By Hinton Communications For Chevron Ecuador Case,” Zennie Abraham Jr. does an excellent job of exposing the true connections between Hinton Communications, the Amazon Defense Coalition and many of the other players involved.  I really wanted to write this story but Mr. Abraham beat me to it.  Please read the full article, I highly recommend it. Mr. Abraham is a respected video-blogger that has appeared on CNN several times.

Unfortunately, creating fake coalitions out of thin air is nothing new in Washington, D.C.  The Amazon Defense Coalition is a perfect example of lawyers, lobbyists, and PR folks getting together to create an organization designed to mislead the public into thinking there is a “real” grassroots effort behind the creation of such an organization.  Google “fake coalitions” and you will find many articles written on this practice.    

Here are some of the highlights from Mr. Abraham’s article:

• “…the Amazon Defense Coalition does not exist except in the mind of Karen Hinton. It’s presented as a firm, a group, a company, but Hinton is the only constant spokesperson who issues material for this supposedly operating organization."


• Hinton Communications floods “…the Internet with press release after press release with the words “Amazon Defense Coalition” on the title, so what comes up in a search for “Amazon Defense Coalition” are results with that listing, so the layperson says “Well, there is an Amazon Defense Coalition because of all these search results.”


• “Hinton’s ties in this matter are deep. She’s linked with Washington lobbyist Ben Barnes, who’s linked with Steve Donziger, of the law firm Kohn, Swift, and Graft (who hired Barnes), and who’s the master lawyer in the lawsuit against Chevron and who may be getting resources from the Ecuadorian government, too. Indeed, the Ben Barnes Group is listed as one of Hinton’s clients and Hinton’s the Amazon Defense Coalition so one can effectively say that Barnes has a major role in the Amazon Defense Coalition because it’s really just Hinton who’s paid by Barnes, who in turn is paid by Donziger / Kohn, Swift, and Graft, who must get its money from the Ecuadorian government, because they too stand to rake in billions, even with the one-third award stake Donziger will gain should he prevail in these legal battles. It’s worth the investment.”

Now how good is that?  Great job Zennie!

The good news is that most folks in the media and Washington, D.C. have long been aware of special interest groups creating phony coalitions.  That is why you won’t find many news articles written by legitimate journalists about the Amazon Defense Coalition. 

In order for Karen Hinton to maintain a successful PR practice, she may want to think about updating her outdated and discredited tactics.  The most critical element in a campaign such as the one Hinton Communications is involved with is credibility.  After reviewing the communications materials and tactics used for the Amazon Defense Coalition, I would say that Ms. Hinton’s credibility has been severely eroded.  As the Chevron/Ecuador case gains more media coverage, we will see if credible journalists tap the Amazon Defense Coalition for information and quotes.

To find out more about the Amazon Defense Coalition and the Chevron/Ecuador case please visit: http://amazondefensecoalition.wordpress.com/

For more information about Hinton Communications please visit: http://hintoncommunicationswatchact.wordpress.com/