Samsung Apologizes to Blogger For IFA Situation Dylan Duarte September 3, 2012 For those that missed the rather despicable story, here’s an abridged version. Samsung selected two bloggers from India for its Mob!lers program, a program in which volunteers are given expense-paid trips to tech events in exchange for covering Samsung products. The two bloggers agreed to go to IFA under the condition that they get to act as independent journalists and not shills for the Samsung corporation. Samsung agrees, but once the bloggers arrive, they’re ordered to don Samsung uniforms and work the Samsung booth, or else their return flights would be canceled and they’ll be stranded in Berlin, Germany, thousands of miles from home. It’s a sad and enraging story, to be sure. Samsung has since released a statement regarding the incident. They claim that it was a misunderstanding and that the two bloggers were not properly briefed on their duties at IFA. They also claimed that all Mob!lers involvement is voluntary and no activities are ever forced upon participants. Blaming things on a misunderstanding is pretty common in PR damage control. However, Samsung’s email to Clinton Jeff, one of the bloggers, uses slightly different language. Samsung directly apologizes to Jeff, an apology that’s left out of the public statement. I would like to reach out to you and deeply apologize to you for your experience in Berlin at IFA. We put you through undue hardship and we are trying to rectify the situation. Samsung wants to meet Jeff in person, so we’ll have to wait for that meeting to see if Samsung can rightfully make up for what was an all around deplorable situation. On the other hand, props to Nokia, who stepped in and offered to cover the bloggers’ hotel and flights. via The Next Web Share This With The World!
