Now He's a Cartoon: Microchip Implant CEO's PR Troubles Go From Bad to Worse
In yet another sign that medical microchip implant company PositiveID (PSID) has the worst PR managers in healthcare, a cartoon YouTube video is making the rounds skewering CEO Scott Silverman (video below).
The company earns almost universally negative headlines for its business, and largely refuses to address them. It turns down interviews with outlets -- such as BNET -- that have offered to let the company rebut the bizarre rumors that surround it (such as that PositiveID is a tool of the antichrist). It relies instead on publishing press releases that speak largely to its investors.
Four days ago, a YouTube video popped up in which an animated version of Silverman, accompanied by "Mr. Tinkles, the monkey that lives in my pants," describes how his company would "never, ever, ever, ever, never" take money from a foreign corporation to inject Americans with microchips so they can be tracked. The punchline: He'll set up a sister company to do that. Ba-dum-bump!
PositiveID, formerly VeriChip, has attracted negative headlines because it markets the Health Link implantable chip (pictured), which links patients to their online medical records -- a move that some regard as a slippery slope for privacy invasions.
The video comes from the producers of WeThePeopleWillNotBeChipped.com, a web site that espouses the belief that all Americans will end up being implanted if they don't do something about it. It's professionally executed but amateurishly scripted -- there are at least two poop jokes in it -- and it's getting about 1,000 views a day. It begins with Silverman looking out of his office window through a telescope: "I'm spying on you!" he says, before addressing the camera and explaining how the chip works:
It's a microchip that's injected into people in order to track ... er ... help them.
... the doctor will be able to scan your medical records from the chip in your body, you know, in case the doctor is totally incompetent and can't get copies the regular way.It ends with a warning that if you don't want to be chipped:
Don't get sick, don't pass out at a party!Related:
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- Positive ID Seeks Diabetic Guinea Pigs for Chip Implant Study
- Conservatives Spread Rumor That Healthcare Reform Mandates Microchip Implants
- PositiveID Deal Advances Use of Microchip Implants in Florida Health System
- VeriChip Buys Steel Vault, Creating Micro-Implant Health Record/Credit Score Empire
- VeriChip TV Ad Confirms Critics' Worst fears: They Want Everyone Implanted
- Microchip Implant Controversy: a Mark of the Beast or the Coming "Singularity"?
- Microchip Implant to Link Your Health Records, Credit History, Social Security