The direct quote is "sometimes, you just have to stand up there and lie. Make the audience or the reporter believe that everything is ok. How many times have you heard a CEO stand up and say 'No, I'm not leaving the company' and then - days later - he's gone. Reporters understand that you 'had' to do it and they won't hold it against you in your next job when you deal with them again."

The revelation had to be embarrassing, especially in the light of Edelman's heavily-promoted "Trust" marketing campaign and media tour. Other major marketing media like Advertising Age offered their own perspective. CEO Richard Edelman eventually responded to the blogger who wrote it, former PR Week staffer Hamilton Nolan. He said that the allegation was false and needed to be taken down.

Nolan thanked him, but refused to take down the post. He cited the legitimacy of his sources and Edelman's past work with Wal-Mart that included a blog scandal and claiming that the group "Working Families for Wal-Mart" was legitimate when it was not. He concluded:

"How in the world could you possibly know that the story about telling executives to lie during media training is false? It's perfectly plausible that some dumb, shady people work for you. It's very likely, in fact. But it sounds bad for Edelman, and you take it personally."