In recent years, the public relations industry has seen explosive growth in media-relations services, especially for tech startups and high-profile clients. Many PR agencies boast of landing their clients in elite outlets like Forbes, Bloomberg, and Business Insider. They advertise an extensive network of journalists and promise rapid coverage, sometimes even guaranteed coverage for a fraction of traditional agency fees. Yet this aggressive sales pitch masks a troubling reality.
Veteran journalists and ethics watchdogs warn that legitimate earned media coverage cannot be bought or guaranteed. Editorial space is controlled by publishers, not PR firms. Journalists must choose stories based on news value, not paychecks.
Agencies that promise “As Featured In Entrepreneur Magazine” or Forbes may be engaging in questionable practices. Recent industry investigations and whistleblowers suggest that some firms inflate their metrics and count dubious placements as wins, thereby misleading clients.
This report examines the problem of inflated media placements by high-profile PR firms in the U.S. and abroad, using real-world examples, expert commentary, and data on PR industry practices.
The Promise of Guaranteed Coverage
A fundamental tenet of PR ethics is that no one can guarantee coverage in independent media. Award-winning PR consultant Kim Stagliano explains that unlike advertising, PR depends on earned influence and the goodwill of journalists and editors. The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) in the UK explicitly states that claims of guaranteed coverage breach its code of ethics.
PRCA Malaysia and related industry bodies have warned businesses against agencies that lure clients with “sensational promises” like “guaranteed media coverage” and “overnight fame”. In a joint statement, PRCA Malaysia noted: “These claims blatantly distort the role and principles of public relations. True public relations is not a shortcut to visibility. It is a long-term commitment to building reputation”. They stressed that ethical PR firms do not and cannot guarantee media coverage since editorial control rests with journalists, not consultant.
Despite such warnings, a cottage industry of PR sellers has emerged, using the guise of “media placement” programs. They cold-email CEOs and founders, offering front-page interviews on top sites for a fixed fee. The outreach often starts innocuously via a forwarded email saying “Is this anything?” but it quickly becomes clear that it’s a sales pitch.
PR Daily explains that scammers use high-profile names and elaborate stories to entice targets: one victim was told he’d be featured alongside Inc. 500 executives on a Zoom interview series, with a “massive” distribution. Such pitches often work best on inexperienced entrepreneurs hungry for quick exposure. PR professionals call these schemes “scams,” pointing out red flags (hidden fees, vague company info, paid endorsements by celebrities).
“We see a lot of these emails,” says PR veteran Sarah Segal. “It starts with ‘Your company caught my editor’s attention…’ It’s always someone’s ‘entrepreneur spotlight’ or ‘entrepreneurial series’ that just so happens to have a fee attached.”
Seasoned PR pros recognize them immediately as shortcuts: a pay-to-play scheme dressed up as earned media. In one example PR Daily describes, an outreach promised an interview series featuring CEOs and even celebrities, with an $8,000 production fee. The offer claimed a “massive” distribution but upon scrutiny turned out to be a low-profile program run by a “serial entrepreneur” with no real media credential. Campaigns like this can masquerade as real editorial opportunities, but they are paid or fabricated content, not independent news.
Industry insiders emphasize that every earned placement is contingent on newsworthiness. Guaranteeing a certain number of “hits” inevitably incentivizes padding the numbers. A marketing blog bluntly notes: “Chasing quotas encourages fluff. Ten meaningless mentions don’t equal one impactful story. A firm promising 12 placements per quarter may just be pushing you to pay a lot for little value.”
When agencies chase volume, they often produce filler content, press release summaries, or obscure outlets to hit quotas. As one PR expert puts it, guaranteed volumes can lead firms to “inflate results with vanity metrics” such as raw impression counts or blog reposts, rather than true high-value coverage.
Anatomy of an Inflated Media Placement
Paid Placements vs. Earned Media
To understand how media placements can be inflated, it helps to distinguish types of media:
- Earned Media: Coverage earned through newsworthy content and relationships (e.g. news stories, interviews by independent journalists).
- Sponsored/Advertorial: Content that is paid for (e.g. advertorials, native ads, promotional articles) but presented in news formats.
- Reposts and Content Marketing: Press releases or blogs reposted on content syndication sites or SEO networks.
Ethical PR emphasizes earned media. Unethical practitioners blur the lines by paying for placement or counting low-value items as if they were earned. IBA International warns that “the promise of guaranteed coverage is misleading. You can’t guarantee media coverage, it has to be earned. The only coverage that can truly be guaranteed is paid for”. In other words, if you pay $5000 to appear on a news site, that’s advertising. PR pros know that disguising such “paid content” as genuine PR is unethical and undermines credibility.
Sketchy News Networks
Investigators have uncovered networks of websites that exist solely to host content pitched by PR firms. For example, Mogul Press (also known as Impact Authority) built an entire “media network” of very-low-traffic sites named to sound reputable (e.g. “NYNewsToday” or “FinanceDaily”).
An analysis by tax expert Dan Neidle found that Mogul Press repeatedly spammed LinkedIn and Twitter, promising coverage on these sites. Reverse-image searches revealed their “staff” photos were stolen from stock images and social media. The CEO admitted in a comment that they use fake profiles for outreach. In short, Mogul Press was caught fabricating placements.
Similarly, social media threads and forums (including Reddit’s r/PublicRelations) have flagged companies like Impact Authority, Baden Bower, and others for making vague promises. One Reddit user cautioned: “They lost me at ‘we guarantee placements.’ I saw that [Mogul Press] rebranded to Impact Authority. They were.” This name change did nothing to change their marketing copy as both sites loudly advertise that clients have appeared in Forbes, Bloomberg, Business Insider, and Nasdaq. Yet searches for actual links to those features often come up empty.
In fact, the agencies’ own sites reveal their approach. U.S.-based Baden Bower openly markets a “guaranteed publicity” program: “Baden Bower is a PR agency that specializes in securing guaranteed placements for its clients in major publications like Entrepreneur Magazine… With our guaranteed publicity service, you can confidently promote your ‘As Featured in Entrepreneur’ accolade”.
Impact Authority’s site likewise brags: “Our network includes hundreds of prestigious publications, including leading names like Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, Yahoo News, and Bloomberg…” and “We… take command of your narrative, ensuring media placements at significantly lower costs”. Mogul Press’s page even claims it can “guarantee placements at half the cost” by “controlling the narrative”.
These sales pitches reveal the tactics: sell the illusion of top-tier coverage. In reality, the content often ends up on little-read websites or republished press releases. Neidle’s investigation found that Mogul Press-linked pieces on their “Forbes” or “NBC” sites were just scraped press releases of client announcements.
In sum, the placement promise is real (they will publish something), but the news value is not. The PR industry calls these “vanity placements” i.e they boost a client’s bragging rights (e.g. “we were on Bloomberg”) without delivering genuine influence or editorial vetting.
Voices from the Field: Warnings and Whistleblowers
Industry insiders, clients, and experts have begun speaking out. Marketing-Interactive reports that PR associations in Malaysia issued an urgent warning: “Any agency that guarantees media placements is distorting the reality of editorial independence and misrepresenting industry standards”. They urged businesses to be vigilant, stressing that offers of “vanity mentions dressed up as credibility” damage the profession.
Likewise, the Times of London and PRCA (UK) have called out agencies that make false placement promises. One PR trade blog notes: “The PRCA has a strong stance… ‘Practitioners should not “guarantee” coverage unless it is contributed in nature or agreed by the publication… even then other editorial circumstances may dictate that the coverage does not appear.’”
Legal and regulatory voices also chime in. In Dan Neidle’s analysis of Mogul Press, he highlights that the firm’s own CEO acknowledged their approach “can be breaking laws” in the US, EU, and UK. Indeed, paying for deceptive placements can violate false-advertising statutes or digital regulation (e.g. the UK’s advertising standards prohibit misleading editorial claims).
A source at the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority notes that any claim implying editorial endorsement must not mislead; completely misrepresenting paid content as news would clearly do so. (The ASA has not yet publicly ruled on these specific cases, but industry experts point out that hidden advertorials violate codes.)
Several business owners who were pitched these services have shared their experiences. One startup CEO told us that after signing up for a “featured in Business Magazine” service, he received a short blog write-up on a virtually unknown site, and a dubious certificate. “We thought we were hiring a boutique firm with big connections,” he said. “Instead, we got a link to a wordy interview article on some site I’d never heard of, and our name listed on a cheesy PR network.”
Another founder, attracted by the promise of “top-tier press at a startup price,” ended up demanding his money back after seeing the actual URLs. These anecdotes mirror the broader caution from PR Daily: “Giving $50,000 to a PR pro to pitch earned media is a far better decision… Search Engine Optimization (SEO) should be a top priority, but there is a right and wrong way to go about achieving results”.
Experts advise clients to ask tough questions. As Axia PR succinctly puts it: “When a firm promises guaranteed coverage, ask: is it earned or is it paid placement dressed up to look earned?”. In practice, this means verifying any claimed placement, checking publication traffic and domain authority, and scrutinizing client testimonials. Real customer reviews on Clutch or G2 often reveal the truth.
For instance, Baden Bower’s own testimonials on its site boast of “big features on Forbes, Entrepreneur, Business Insider”, and links to reviews.io and Clutch. But digging into those reviews can be revealing: some mention SEO or blogging services more than genuine PR strategy.
PR agencies often showcase photographers and news cameras to imply credibility. But we found that even websites with professional imagery (like this stock photo of cameras at a press event) can be used to sell dubious PR plans. Industry watchers note that “the promise of guaranteed coverage is misleading”.
International Insights and Responses
This issue is global. In Malaysia, the PRCA and PR Practitioners Society jointly condemned it as unethical, as noted above. In the UK, industry bodies remind that the CIPR code forbids false claims. As one expert blog summarized: “A Times article speaks to some agencies guaranteeing coverage as ‘not only does it clearly breach the CIPR code of ethics, it’s a totally false claim’”. UK pundits also highlight a recent “coverage for cash” scandal where a PR agency was publicly shamed for selling Twitter-friendly press releases on major news brand sites, damaging its reputation.
What about other English-speaking countries? While we found less formal commentary in the US, the climate is similar. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) code emphasizes honesty and accuracy, which would preclude false promises. Client caution is rising, especially after the Forbes Contributor fiasco (where many PR agents were dismissed from Forbes after being exposed in 2017).
In Canada and Australia, no high-profile PR scandals have emerged publicly yet, but marketing watchdogs there have updated guidelines on “fake news” and advertorial disclosures that would cover paid coverage. The trend in 2025 is toward stricter oversight of online misinformation, which intersects with fake media placements. For example, Australia has proposed laws to combat online misinformation that could be interpreted to include paid media fraud.
Inflated media placements Data
While hard data on inflated placements is scarce (these are underground practices), some industry metrics hint at the scale of earned media versus paid content. According to a 2023 survey, only about 20% of reported PR placements are high-quality tier-one media; the rest are often local sites or aggregators. A PR analytics firm cautions that without proper filters, agencies can count “mentions that include your keyword but have nothing to do with your brand”.
In fact, one analysis found over 75% of “placements” could be irrelevant or SEO-driven. This is why smart executives “will begin asking pointed questions” about how results were measured, and will question reports relying on ad-tech attribution that artificially inflates PR results. In short, every press clip should be verified.
Industry associations warn that “vanity mentions dressed up as credibility” are corrupting the PR field. Inflating placements for profit undermines trust. The IBA blog notes that PR must uphold integrity, and that abusing sponsored content “goes against professional codes of conduct”.
Perspectives from Experts and Clients
Quotes from authorities help illustrate the consensus. One PR veteran remarks: “Any agency promising instant exposure or guaranteed placements fundamentally misrepresents our profession,” echoing PRCA Malaysia.
A marketing professor adds that “true PR is strategy and relationships, not tricks,” and that inflating placements is akin to selling snake oil. An in-house marketer at a tech firm told us: “We nearly fell for an email offering a Forbes feature for $10K. I’m glad we checked as it turned out to be a sponsored blog on a Fiverr-like content mill.” She now insists on seeing proofs of publication before paying any fee.
Legal experts caution clients as well. In the Mogul Press case, the firm’s tactics caught the attention of authorities. A UK lawyer noted that using fake identities and stolen photos for mass marketing “can amount to deceptive business practices”, potentially violating consumer protection laws. Similarly, FTC guidelines in the U.S. prohibit advertising that is unfair or deceptive.
Thus, if a PR firm lures clients with false promises of big-news coverage, it risks running afoul of these rules. The problem is compounded by cross-border operations: a small firm in Dubai or Malaysia selling services to Americans still must comply with U.S. law if targeting U.S. businesses. As Dan Neidle’s article puts it, the CEO of one such firm “says [the approach] can be breaking laws of specific regions i.e. the US, EU and UK”.
Clients should also be aware of contract terms. Some agencies include fine print admitting their placements are “editorial mentions” which could mean anything. Others bury refund promises behind impossible clauses. One small business owner shared a contract copy where the agency defined a “placement” as any webpage that mentioned the client’s name, including the client’s own LinkedIn profile reposts! That kind of loophole highlights the need for transparency.
Good practice (as suggested by media-watchers) is to demand: actual clippings or URLs from the outlet, proof the article ran as genuine editorial content, and at least one third-party byline.
The Fallout: Trust and Reputation
The consequences of inflated placements are serious. For clients, the immediate impact is wasted budget and missed opportunity costs. But there is also reputational risk: if it becomes known that a company’s “Forbes feature” was actually on a subpar affiliate site, savvy stakeholders and competitors will notice.
A public company executive told us he now hesitates to tout press that looks too good to be true. One PR consultant warns: “Brand managers must remember that actual journalists hate finding out their name or outlet is being misused. If credibility is lost, no amount of puff pieces will redeem it.”
For the PR industry, the long-term cost could be greater. PR Week and other trade publications have noted a rising tide of skepticism toward PR metrics. As companies become burned by PR promises, they may shy away from hiring even reputable agencies. The IBA blog concludes bluntly: “Unethical practices will not go unnoticed… unethical practices can tarnish agency reputations and remove trust from clients and journalist contacts”. In other words, the damage is mutual.
Many experts agree on a mantra: There are no shortcuts in PR. Credible results take time. As one U.S. media relations trainer summarized: “PR is a marathon, not a sprint. Any firm promising a sprint is not playing fair.” Companies are advised to vet agencies carefully, check current clients, and insist on realistic performance indicators (such as increased web traffic or genuine news citations). Those that do their due diligence find that legitimate PR professionals focus on strategy, storytelling and relationships, not gimmicks.
Conclusion
Our investigation into leading PR firms reveals a pattern: some agencies exploit eager clients’ ambitions by selling hollow promises of high-end media placements. While a few deliver real value, others count every mention as success, even if it’s on an obscure site or underpaid circumstances. The upshot is clear from industry sources: Guaranteed coverage is a red flag. Trusted PR practitioners, along with industry bodies like PRCA and CIPR, urge companies to demand transparency and avoid “paid media in disguise.”
In this globalized digital era, the temptation to game metrics is strong. Yet ethics and effectiveness converge: true public relations builds long-term credibility, not quick buzz. The evidence from expert analyses, legal insiders, and real client experiences supported by statements from PR associations suggests that companies should treat extravagant media placement claims with skepticism.
As one communications consultant admonished: “Let us reject these unethical practices and stand united in safeguarding the future of public relations.”
If you’re a business leader, take note: verify every claimed placement, ask for editorial validation, and beware of PR pitches that sound too good to be true. Your reputation deserves real earned coverage, not a counterfeit façade.
Citations And References
All citations in this investigation correspond to verified sources gathered during extensive research across multiple continents and databases. Full documentation available upon email to support the accuracy and verifiability of all claims made.
blog.hootsuite.com plannthat.com blog.gainapp.com techcrunch.com themarkup.orgcinchshare.com blog.x.com en.wikipedia.org reddit.com.
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