MICROSOFT: PROPAGANDA WATCH

Deltoid: When Think Tanks Attack

Australian blogger Tim Lambert has taken a closer look at some of
the think tanks that have emerged as critics of open source
software, which threatens Microsoft's position in the marketplace.
"Why are all these think tanks so down on Open Source?" Lambert
asks. "Well, the Small Business Survival Committee is concerned
that using open source will expose small business to the risk of
lawsuits. Citizens Against Government Waste is concerned that the
Government might waste money on Open Source. Defenders of Property
Rights is concerned that Open Source might be a threat to
intellectual property rights. However, I was able to detect a
common theme to all their criticism. They all seem to be funded by
Microsoft." Lambert also notes that many of them, such as the
Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, have participated in previous
campaigns to deny the dangers of tobacco and global warming, while
receiving funding from the tobacco and fossil fuel industries.