Is it morally ethical to help run a smear campaign against a possible ponzi?

[yahoo62278]

I was approached by a user in regards to a possible Ponzi ICO. They want to run a smear campaign(will not disclose the ICO yet). Users posting on the company facebook page, twitter, making blogs, etc.

I advised them that opening a scam accusation was the best route and likely morally the best route. Not to mention, running this smear campaign could possibly cost them thousands of dollars, but they are ok with it.

So the question is, is this morally ethical? Does bitcointalk prohibit it? Does libel come into play? Slander? I'm still filtering through all the evidence brought to me, but assuming it's true, should this be allowed?

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[actmyname]

Scam Accusations are preferable but they will not be as accessible or targeted as a smear campaign.

Consider this:

If a user spots the ICO on Twitter/Facebook/etc what are the chances that they will search for any threads on Bitcointalk? What if they directly go to the website, read it and invest?I'm not advocating for or against.


If the likelihood of it being a ponzi is high, then proactive prevention makes some sense... but that creates a very bad precedent to follow.

[Rabbot]

Maybe you should think why they are willing to spend so much money on the campaign.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

Maybe you should think why they are willing to spend so much money on the campaign.

Same thought came into my mind, what's the gain for the user in question, what'll he/she profit from spending thousand in this campaign maybe he/she is also a apart of similar business operation and just trying to eliminate their competitor by exposing them through the campaign. A reasonable user with no other intention would had just started an accusation thread.

There's more to the story then what the users is just telling you therefore I would advice you distance yourself from the campaign as their intentions aren't genuine.

[yahoo62278]

Maybe you should think why they are willing to spend so much money on the campaign.

Same thought came into my mind, what's the gain for the user in question, what'll he/she profit from spending thousand in this campaign maybe he/she is also a apart of similar business operation and just trying to eliminate their competitor by exposing them through the campaign. A reasonable user with no other intention would had just started an accusation thread.

There's more to the story then what the users is just telling you therefore I would advice you distance yourself from the campaign as their intentions aren't genuine.

Maybe you should think why they are willing to spend so much money on the campaign.

I'm considering everything and do not really like the idea of a smear campaign myself. I have tried pushing them towards just opening a scam accusation thread or a thread here in reputation and letting people post opinions.

Looking for opinions period as to how people feel about this. Doesn't matter if the opinion is positive or negative, post it. I would like to see as many opinions/thoughts as possible.

[seoincorporation]

Maybe you should think why they are willing to spend so much money on the campaign.

Because the best way to promote a Ponzi is by investing in marketing, if the Ponzi grows fast then they could run faster with their filled pockets. If they don't invest in marketing then will be hard for the Ponzi to grow.

In this scenario i think you can run the campaign Yahoo, at the end is a job for you, but there are two issues:

1.- You are a trusted user in the community, for sure you will not feel good while you promote a business like this because at the end a lot of people will lose their money.
2.- People could think you are part of that team and could tag you with neg. trust.

Is a complex situation, is a job offer but isn't ethic at all.

[LoyceV]

Does bitcointalk prohibit it?

I'll only respond to this question for now: Have you seen the thread on ChangeNow.io's scam? User ni23457 bought Forum advertising (through theymos' auction) for several weeks in a row, and even continued for a while after he got back his money.
I wouldn't call it a smear campaign, but this got enough exposure to pressure the scammer to return his money.

[yahoo62278]

Maybe you should think why they are willing to spend so much money on the campaign.

Because the best way to promote a Ponzi is by investing in marketing, if the Ponzi grows fast then they could run faster with their filled pockets. If they don't invest in marketing then will be hard for the Ponzi to grow.

In this scenario i think you can run the campaign Yahoo, at the end is a job for you, but there are two issues:

1.- You are a trusted user in the community, for sure you will not feel good while you promote a business like this because at the end a lot of people will lose their money.
2.- People could think you are part of that team and could tag you with neg. trust.

Is a complex situation, is a job offer but isn't ethic at all.

Do you read what I posted? I'm not trying to advertise for the company, the campaign would be to advertise AGAINST the company.

It's not about a job at all. I'm gonna eat either way. I'm not some poor manager who is desperate for a job at all. I want to make sure anything I do or think about doing is #1 not against forum rules/policies. As well as #2 i'm not legally at fault for anything that may/may not come of this. #3 the community is for/against this type of campaigning.

[marlboroza]

the campaign would be to advertise AGAINST the company.

Read between the lines  

[o_e_l_e_o]

I was approached by a user in regards to a possible Ponzi ICO.

Emphasis mine. This is what concerns me here.

If the campaign in question is simply stating facts, then it's not really any different to negative campaigns which takes place in many political systems around the world. Some people do not ethically agree with negative campaigning, others think it is fine, but (in most jurisdictions) it is certainly not illegal.

If, however, the campaign is extrapolating or implying things which may or may not be true, which it sounds like it will be since you have said possible Ponzi and not definite or proven Ponzi, then it becomes more of a smear campaign and potentially libelous, which then could become illegal.

As others have mentioned, the motive behind this is concerning as well. A third party that is doing this out of pure altruism at their own expense simply to warn others is far different than a direct competitor attempting to increase their own business. Given that there are literally hundreds of Ponzi ICOs, what is so special about this one?

[The Sceptical Chymist]

I'm considering everything and do not really like the idea of a smear campaign myself.

There are "smear campaigns" and then there's the exposing of ugly truths.  If what they want to do is the latter, and it's relevant to whatever the ICO is trying to do, then I'd say go for it.  But if they're trying to do a smear campaign a la politics, I wouldn't support that.  

I'm not sure about libel, but I doubt anyone involved would even go that route, especially if the ICO is shady.  In any case, it doesn't sound too hot to me.  Why did they contact you, or did I miss that part?

Edit:  So they want you to manage a campaign against another project?  Not sure if I understood your last post correctly.  If I did, and I were you I'd not take part in this.  Your reputation might get sullied by this--that's what my gut is telling me.

[yahoo62278]

I'm considering everything and do not really like the idea of a smear campaign myself.

There are "smear campaigns" and then there's the exposing of ugly truths.  If what they want to do is the latter, and it's relevant to whatever the ICO is trying to do, then I'd say go for it.  But if they're trying to do a smear campaign a la politics, I wouldn't support that.  

I'm not sure about libel, but I doubt anyone involved would even go that route, especially if the ICO is shady.  In any case, it doesn't sound too hot to me.  Why did they contact you, or did I miss that part?

Edit:  So they want you to manage a campaign against another project?  Not sure if I understood your last post correctly.  If I did, and I were you I'd not take part in this.  Your reputation might get sullied by this--that's what my gut is telling me.

From what I understand, they want to bring awareness to users that the project is a ponzi. My contact info is posted in my managers thread and my signature space, so getting in touch with me isn't hard.

I'll likely pass on the project period, but this issue has never come up for me before so I wanted community opinions on it.