Tell the truth T4, don't broadcast baloney

Stuart Corner
Friday, 11 May 2007 08:03

Opinion and Analysis

T4 (Tell The Truth Telstra) the group of tier 2 carriers set up to counter what its members see as a concerted misinformation campaign by Telstra on broadband and FTTN  needs to take a serious look at its PR tactics.

T4 has putout a press release saying: "An opinion poll currently featuring on Telstra's website, nowwearetalking.com.au, indicates the public may finally be hearing the truth about what is holding back high-speed broadband in Australia."

It goes on to explain that the opinion poll asked visitors: "Who do you think is blocking high-speed broadband for Australia?" And gleefully notes that the response "from an overwhelming 97 percent of participants" is that Telstra is to blame. And to prove the point it even had a graphic of the poll results from NWAT.

A gloating spokesman was quoted saying: "According to Telstra's recent spin and rhetoric, every other carrier in the industry, the government and the regulator are to blame for blocking the roll-out of a high-speed broadband network across Australia. This poll indicates that Australian's are not buying into the myths Telstra has been creating."

Come off it T4. Either (a) you are buying into a myth, (b) you think we will, or (c) you can't see that promulgating what is clearly a false result is good PR. There is no way that the community is so polarised. Someone has clearly rigged the poll, which is difficult, but not impossible.

When I went to NWAT to check on the results the poll had been archived and replaced with one "Have you ever tried to rig an online poll?" And NWAT's editor Rob Bruem, told me "yes we have hard evidence it was rigged, which is why we took it down."

He added: "Someone had to go to a lot of trouble to do that...I don't think anyone is under any impression that an online straw poll is absolutely kosher, but we've never had one abused to this degree before."

Hopefully both Telstra and T4 will learn from this: Telstra that putting up polls that are clearly designed to further its own agenda is to invite abuse and T4 not to issue press releases unless they have something credible to say.