Google apologises for Sicko blog comments

Slamming Michael Moore is not company policy

Iain Thomson

An advertising sales account planner at Google has apologised for comments on a company blog regarding the new Michael Moore film Sicko.

Lauren Turner used Google's Health Advertising Blog to make a pitch to healthcare companies to buy Google adverts opposite the film to get their message across. The comments caused a storm. 

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"Moore attacks health insurers, health providers and pharmaceutical companies by connecting them to isolated and emotional stories of the system at its worst, " wrote Turner

"Moore's film portrays the industry as money and marketing driven, and fails to show healthcare's interest in patient well-being and care."

The entry angered fellow bloggers, who accused Turner of trying to flout Google's 'Do no evil' mantra.

Turner apologised today and tried to play down the incident, maintaining that the views expressed were hers alone.

"Some readers thought the opinion I expressed about Sicko was actually Google's opinion," she wrote.

"It is easy to understand why it might have seemed that way because, after all, this is a corporate blog. So that was my mistake. I understand why it caused some confusion."

In the film Moore advocates replacing the current private health care system in the US with universal healthcare for all.

The filmmaker claims that health companies hide the fact that they are primar ily motivated by profits by running PR and marketing campaigns.

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