It appears that Exxon is astroturfing YouTube, producing content designed to look like an authentic, amateur piece belittling Al Gore's efforts to bring attention to the climate change crisis.

It's been a while since I got really upset by an advertising campaign. I sort of thought I'd grown out of it, to tell you the truth. Guess not. Kriston thinks I'm crazy, but I still believe there should be some sort of disclosure requirement that makes this kind of sleaziness nonviable.

More realistically, YouTube might want to think about introducing such a requirement into its license terms, if it wants to maintain the cachet it's currently enjoying. Eventually the copyright owners will yank their content. If all that's left is a collection of cutting-edge marketing efforts, interest in the site will evaporate pretty quickly.