Qorvis

This article is part of the Lobbying Portal, a sunlight project from Spinwatch.

Qorvis is 'one of Washington's best-known lobbying and public relations firms'.

Activities

In March 2011 The Huffington Post reported that "in the last two months, more than a third of the partners at Qorvis have left the firm to start their own lobby shops, partly because of the firm's work on behalf of such clients as Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the Central African nation of Equatorial Guinea, say former employees".

Online Reputation Management

According to the Huffington Post:

One of the methods used by Qorvis and other firms is online reputation management -- through its 'Geo-Political Solutions' (GPS) division, the firm uses '"black arts" by creating fake blogs and websites that link back to positive content, "to make sure that no one online comes across the bad stuff," says [a] former insider. Other techniques include the use of social media, including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Recently, Qorvis helped frame the kingdom's crackdown on protests by highlighting statements made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in which she emphasized America's commitment to Bahrain and affirmed its "sovereign right" to invite security forces from other countries. Clinton's comment that the government is "on the wrong track," however, was omitted, notes the Sunlight Foundation's Paul Blumenthal.

Clients

• Saudia Arabia
• Equatorial Guinea
• Yemen
• Bahrain

Publications, Contact, Resources and Notes

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