Bonum Certa Men Certa

Googlebombing 'Linux' With Microsoft Public Relations

Microsoft loves Microsoft lovers (and apologists who facilitate entryism)

Swapnil Zemlin



Summary: Microsoft is fully engaged in "brand dilution" tactics*, associating itself and Windows with "Linux" even though GNU/Linux is its (and Windows') rival

SO, this morning I search for "Linux" news... and then I find this site called Linux.com ("The source for Linux information," according to its title/byline) linking to Microsoft's unofficial PR reps. It's linking directly to Microsoft PR reps from a tabloid of corporate media Microsoft is funding (CBS), with headlines like "Microsoft looks to 'do for data sharing what open source did for code'" (well, at least Swapnil is consistent).



“The LF is poo. Corporate toadies all about money, with no understanding of Linux and FOSS.”
      --Carla Schroder
Former Linux.com writer
I searched for "Ubuntu" some hours ago and got results like this one; this became very typical in recent months. Some readers tell us that most news they stumble upon when searching for Linux is actually Microsoft, not Linux.

"What saddens us is the degree to which Zemlin and his PAC actively participate in all this."The above pattern has sadly become rather common. It's the type of puff pieces Microsoft Peter did in another tabloid, where he hijacked the "Open Source" section to post nothing except Microsoft propaganda. Yes, their entire "Open Source" section is still just Microsoft lies! Even 2 months after Microsoft Peter was arrested (he had been raping children while Microsoft used him as a courier, for nearly one decade).

What saddens us is the degree to which Zemlin and his PAC actively participate in all this. Carla Schroder, who wrote for Linux.com, said yesterday that "[t]he LF (Linux Foundation) is poo. Corporate toadies all about money, with no understanding of Linux and FOSS." ⬆ ____ * As per one example: "Brand dilution is when a company’s brand equity diminishes due to an unsuccessful brand extension, which is a new product the company develops in an industry that they don’t have any market share in, like Reese’s Puff Cereal or Gerber’s baby clothes."

Recent Techrights' Posts

Many People "Left" Red Hat This Month, Including Yesterday
We already saw this with SUSE
Birss Replaces Vos in UK's High Court, LLM Slop Plagiarism a Contentious Issue
Only days ago we mentioned Sir Geoffrey Vos in relation to lobbying for LLM slop
Despite the Mass Layoffs Microsoft's Debt Soared by 5.1 Billion Dollars in Just 3 Months
This is why Microsoft asks 60,000 workers to leave
What Linus Torvalds Told Me Two Decades Ago
It seems like he was eager to distinguish himself from the "elders" of FSF [...] For anything "revolutionary" to happen in the sciences one must accept the risk of living in poverty like Tesla (the person, not the right-wing fanatics) and Torvalds isn't too old to "cause a stir"
 
Amazon's Debt Skyrockets by Almost 100 Billion Dollars in 9 Months
On top of that there is additional (secret, kept stealth by accounting tricks) debt
Google Illegally Destroyed a Quarter Million Trees Without a Permit for a Hypothetical Project That Might be Cancelled, Debt Has Soared by 30 Billion Dollars in 3 Months ($10 Billions Borrowed Per Month)
Google is bleeding from slop
Slavery at Microsoft
illegal if true
Gemini Links 31/10/2026: "Where I Draw the Line With" Slop Plagiarism and "Nobody Cares That You're Leaving Proton" (Over Slop)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 30, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, October 30, 2026
Links 30/10/2026: "Over 41,000 DHS Employee Records Leaked Online" and Concerns Over Radicalism in France
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXIV - It's an Inherently American Issue and American Elections Are at Risk From Restricted ('Secure') Boot and LLM Chatbots (Disinformation at Scale)
We'll focus a lot on US elections in the coming days
"Early Retirement" (Silent Layoffs) for Everybody Except the Executives
Some will stick around even past 70
Gemini Links 30/10/2026: Solar MiniBBS, Kubernetes With FreeBSD, "Sysadmin Day"
Links for the day
Microsoft Layoffs Far Worse Than the Media Tells (Microsoft Spin Laundered as "Reporting")
Some people are made to "retire" and sign an NDA to make it seem like a happy ending and mostly consensual retreat
Links 30/10/2026: Google Crashes on Slop Disappointment and GAFAM's "Data Center Blitz Is Burning Through Cash and Scaring Wall St."
Links for the day
Fake 'Articles' in The Register MS Concerning "AI"
We don't suppose The Register MS will be around for much longer after this bubble pops
GNU/Linux as a Free Software Platform is More GNU (and GPL) Than Linux
GNU predates Linux by nearly a decades and it was born to tackle injustices
Who Or What Are Security Professionals/Experts?
Companies like GAFAM are willing to tolerate cheaters because those companies themselves are cheats
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXIII - What Garrett Did Puts Elections at Risk (Also in His Own Country, Where a Dictator Trusts Only Machines That 'Support' Him)
UEFI 'security' is only as trustworthy as its ferocious boosters
Gemini Links 30/10/2026: RIP Patrick Stewart and Amp Integration
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 29, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, October 29, 2026
The Metric is Not the Mission
"Passing Thoughts" by Andy
More Than 5 Years Have Passed Since Official Release of Vista 11 and in the US It's Measured as Only 3 Times Bigger Than GNU/Linux on the Desktop/Laptop
If mobile is culled from the statistics, then GNU/Linux is somewhere near 11%
It's About Intention, Not Attrition, at Microsoft
Microsoft does in fact aim to push many workers off the cliff
The Next 50 Years of Emacs (and GNU)
GNU's founder made the widely used editor, GNU Emacs
Links 29/10/2026: Microsoft-Connected and Funded Openwashing at FOSDEM, Tragedy in Spain
Links for the day
Gemini Links 29/10/2026: London, Worcestershire, and Robot Exclusion Protocol
Links for the day
The Register MS is Publishing Spam About "AI" for HP, Sponsored by HP, Even Composed by HP
Or "HPE" as they choose to call themselves (with the hype of "enterprise")
Links 29/10/2026: Anthropic Still Sued Over Copyright Infringement (Plagiarism Isn't "Training"), Elon Musk Openly Admits He Helps Putin Crush Ukraine
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXI - Techrights Was Right, So Why Was It Punished by Lawfare While the Culprits Walk Away Scot-free?
Techrights did a public service, cautioning about real risks to the public, but the people who caused the problems walk away scot-free
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXII - Still "Radio Silence" From "Restricted Boot" Perpetrators (After Techrights Proven Right Again)
Maybe when they sober up they'll say something...
'Secure' Boot Is Not Secure, Here Are News Reports About the Latest Evidence
We'll be linking to this page in the future as evidence of the catastrophe
No, Microsoft Isn't Doing Well (It Has Struggled for a Long Time)
Microsoft isn't growing, the shares are a Ponzi scheme of sorts
What Makes Techrights a Community
Communities can accomplish a lot. They cannot be "bought" and "sold", they're based on trust, mutual respect, and shared ideology.
Linux Links 29/10/2026: Refractor Stargazing and Making Better Use of RAM in Linux
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 28, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 28, 2026