[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xVsYc-y7IY] Last week this video clip (above) from the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC calling global PR consultancy Burson-Marsteller (BM) "the PR firm from hell" did its rounds across the Internet. According to the video, BM was hired by AIG, who has taken government bailouts, to spruce up its corporate image. The producers of the show dug up lots of history about the firm and eluded to the fact that BM was an expert on covering up "evil". Clearly this is bad for any company, let alone a PR firm specialising in corporate image protection. When that video passed by me, I thought that was it. The damage was done and it's time to pick up the pieces. But amazingly, round two (below) is currently making its rounds, with the help of YouTube, simply because BM's CEO accused Rachel of getting her facts wrong. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iilO6QeNIXk] This PR fiasco made me realise that the social web truly empowers the media. Before the days of YouTube, it would be very unlikely that we in Asia would get to watch a clip like this and thus would not have a negative perception of the global firm. The Internet brings every story of bad reputation within a click from anyone. PR Watch is a good example of what's been going wrong in the world of PR.