Much emphasis is placed on the importance of online reputation management these days, and rightly so. But last week saw nefarious use of two of the oldest tricks of the PR trade (the press release and the news conference) shake an American giant off its game.

Major news outlets, including Reuters, Fox and CNBC flocked to the National Press Club in D.C. on Monday after scanning a press advisory promising a “dramatic” shift in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s environmental policy.  (The business lobby’s position on climate change — specifically cap and trade — had led to a handful of recent and high-profile defections.)  Those attending the press conference heard a remarkable reversal of position from a spokesman from the USCOC — generating stories that quickly jumped from the wires to the airways.

The problem, of course, was that those at the press club representing the “USCOC” were not from the Chamber. The Yes Men, known as “political performance artists” and “reputation hijackers,” had booked the room, issued the Trojan horse release and taken the podium by fooling both the NPC and the news wire into putting a spotlight on a policy position they detest.

An intrepid rep from the real Chamber got wind of the farce and made a quick appearance, all captured on video (see below), and put an end to the sham — but not before some serious, if temporary, damage was done.

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Corrections were issued and the Chamber’s position restated but, as of Friday afternoon, the remnants of the fraud were still being cleaned up.

While the Web certainly helped fuel the fire and broadcast the resulting brand butchery, it took a brick-and-mortar presser to turn this hoax into a news making event.

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