{"id":4544,"date":"2011-05-28T14:44:33","date_gmt":"2011-05-28T21:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4544"},"modified":"2011-05-28T14:44:33","modified_gmt":"2011-05-28T21:44:33","slug":"markdown-glenn-becks-groupon-ripoff-shills-for-his-sponsors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4544","title":{"rendered":"Markdown: Glenn Beck’s Groupon Ripoff Shills For His Sponsors"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Glenn Beck announced that he was launching a new discount service similar to the popular Groupon, it was widely dismissed as just another obvious vehicle for Beck to squeeze more money from his glassy-eyed congregation. He is rapidly developing a new brand of consumerism that merges the Home Shopping Channel with the Christian Broadcasting Network were it all presented by the John Birch Society.<\/p>\n

The first offering at Beck’s Markdown.com was innocent enough – a chocolate retailer that aggregated unique sweets that almost anyone could enjoy. The second offering, however, is a different story.<\/p>\n

<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n

That’s right – LifeLock. One of Beck’s biggest and most reliable advertisers on both radio and television. I’m sure the decision to feature LifeLock on his new web site had nothing to do with the fact that they have been paying him handsomely to sponsor his broadcasts for years. It was a totally objective choice with no ulterior motives or backroom profiteering. Uh huh.<\/p>\n

Beck didn’t wait long to reveal the true intent of this knockoff site. He could have promoted a half dozen innocuous businesses before shilling for one of his sponsors. The fact that he didn’t wait tells us just how confident he is that his followers won’t object to being scammed so openly. They are so securely under his spell that no effort to disguise his self-serving intent is required. And they undoubtedly believe the mission statement Beck posted for his service:<\/p>\n

“Markdown.com is a different kind of e-commerce site. Sure, we care about revenue and profit, but we care about honesty and integrity just as much. We believe in value, but we also believe in values\u2014the idea that we should be guided by a set of principles that transcends money.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Apparently disclosing that the product you are supposedly promoting impartially is actually your long-time sponsor is not amongst the set of principles that guide Beck. What’s more, Beck presents LifeLock as a company that adheres to high standards of integrity and says that…<\/p>\n

“…the idea that you should always do what’s right, no matter the situation – can be found in everything the company does.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That, however, is not the view of investigators<\/a> at the Federal Trade Commission who charged Lifelock with “operating a scam and con operation.”<\/em> The FTC, along with 35 state attorneys general, levied a fine of $12 million against the company for “deceptive business practices and for failing to secure sensitive customer data.”<\/em> In short, investigators found that LifeLock failed to provide any of the services they promised.<\/p>\n

LifeLock is just one of Beck’s advertisers with dubious histories. Goldline, TaxMasters, and FreeScore, have all been under legal scrutiny and drawn rebukes from consumer advocates. But that hasn’t stopped Beck from shilling for these firms and now hoisting LifeLock to a position of honor at his phony coupon shop. It just makes you wonder what’s next: Glenn Beck’s Patriot Tears?<\/p>\n


\n[h\/t Stephen Colbert]<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Glenn Beck announced that he was launching a new discount service similar to the popular Groupon, it was widely dismissed as just another obvious vehicle for Beck to squeeze more money from his glassy-eyed congregation. He is rapidly developing a new brand of consumerism that merges the Home Shopping Channel with the Christian Broadcasting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[44],"class_list":["post-4544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-glenn-beck"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-1bi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5717,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=5717","url_meta":{"origin":4544,"position":0},"title":"Glenn Beck Sponsor Goldline Charged With Theft And Fraud","author":"Mark NC","date":"11\/2\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"ABC News is reporting that Glenn Beck's long-time sponsor Goldline has been formally charged by the Santa Monica City Attorney with a 19-count criminal complaint for defrauding customers. The complaint alleges that Goldline \"runs a bait and switch operation in which customers, seeking to invest in gold bullion, are switched\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3388,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3388","url_meta":{"origin":4544,"position":1},"title":"Crime Inc: The Law Closes In On Glenn Beck’s Advertisers","author":"Mark NC","date":"12\/8\/2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Last May I revealed the criminal syndicate surrounding Glenn Beck and his dwindling cadre of advertisers. The list included Goldline International, LifeLock, Tax Masters, and Free Score. I'm not sure there is any program on TV with a more nefarious assortment of sponsors. Today Mother Jones is reporting that the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1652,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1652","url_meta":{"origin":4544,"position":2},"title":"Crime Inc: Glenn Beck’s Corrupt Advertisers","author":"Mark NC","date":"5\/20\/2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The past couple of weeks Glenn Beck has been raving about some sort of criminal enterprise that he imagines is being run from the White House. Even with the help of his blackboards he hasn't ever been able to coherently explain it, but he is convinced that it exists and,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1478,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1478","url_meta":{"origin":4544,"position":3},"title":"Glenn Beck’s Fear For Profit Paranoia Play","author":"Mark NC","date":"11\/30\/2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Sitting through an episode of Glenn Beck's program on Fox News, an emotional punch is delivered that is not much different in substance than a disaster movie like 2012. It is jam-packed with terror-inducing scenes of catastrophe, destruction, conspiracy, and death. For example in Beck's own words: ...there are people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5523,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=5523","url_meta":{"origin":4544,"position":4},"title":"Strike Out Beck: Why Did Major League Baseball Put Glenn Beck In Their Lineup?","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/13\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"A new web site has come up to bat that is challenging Major League Baseball's support for Glenn Beck's new GBTV venture. With America's game down to the final exciting innings of post-season, a new campaign from Americans United for Change is pressuring Major League Baseball to immediately end its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3374,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3374","url_meta":{"origin":4544,"position":5},"title":"Glenn Beck’s Amazon Wish List Revealed","author":"Mark NC","date":"12\/6\/2010","format":false,"excerpt":"You'll never guess what Glenn Beck wants for Christmas. Here's a hint: It's something he really, really needs. Well, you don't have to wonder any more. The crack investigators at News Corpse, with help from Glenn Beck Unhinged, have discovered Beck's Wish List on Amazon.com. Stop by and consider helping\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4544"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4551,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4544\/revisions\/4551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}