University of California, Davis have landed in hot water recently over payments they made to erase stories and photographs about the university from the internet.
UC Davis officials released a statement late Thursday saying, “Increased investment in social media and communications strategy has heightened the profile of the university to good effect.”
According to The LA Times, a photograph of the police pepper-spraying students and alumni during a protest in 2011 caused widespread online outrage for the officer’s excessive use of force.
“At the time, the Occupy Wall Street movement had spilled onto college campuses, combining with student anger over rising tuition and cuts to higher education to spur protests and sit-ins.”
A company called Nevins and Associates were hired by the university to eliminate negative search results about the college, by diluting negative stories with a series of positive stories.
As part of its contract, Nevins & Associates said it would work to remedy the “venomous rhetoric about UC Davis and the chancellor” through “strategic placement of online content.”
