Chapter 905

On March 10, 2005, under the careful planning of the White House, a smear storm against Umbrella Properties swept across the United States with the force of a thunderbolt.

Major television stations and media in the Republican camp seemed to have a tacit understanding, as if they had received a unified instruction from the higher-ups at the same moment, and without hesitation, they threw themselves into this organized and premeditated public opinion offensive.

On the evening of March 12, the American Broadcasting Company's (ABC) ace news program "Nightline" aired on time during prime time.

The host looked solemn, his voice low and full of "justice" as he questioned:

"Dear viewers, tonight we will uncover a shocking truth. According to reliable sources, Umbrella Properties, which has long maintained a public welfare image, is secretly colluding with underground criminal gangs behind the scenes."

Subsequently, some blurry and unknown images of so-called "internal documents" appeared on the screen.

The host continued: "Anonymous sources revealed that many of its properties are used as secret strongholds for criminal activities, and some businesses are suspected of laundering money for criminal organizations."

"Such behavior is simply outrageous! We can't help but ask..."

Once the program aired, it was like a heavy bomb thrown into a calm lake, quickly causing a huge uproar among television viewers across the United States.

Soon, this craze spread from television to social media MySpace and Facebook, with a large number of netizens participating in the discussion.

One day later, on March 13, the Fox News Network (FOX) also started a series of attacks.

From March 13 onwards, they continued to report in various news programs on their television channels with their consistent sharp and inflammatory style.

"Internal personnel revealed that Umbrella Properties senior management has close dealings with Mexican drug cartels, providing them with channels for capital transfer and assisting criminal organizations in laundering illegal proceeds."

The anchor said fiercely on the program.

Immediately after, the screen switched to a person who claimed to be a "former employee," who vividly described the scene of bumping into company senior management secretly meeting with criminal gang members at work:

"That scene was too terrifying, I saw with my own eyes that they were trading drugs in a secret warehouse."

Although these remarks had no solid evidence, they relied on FOX's extensive dissemination channels to set off a huge wave across the United States.

Many people outside the region began to feel disgusted with Umbrella Properties.

In addition to the bombardment of television stations, major newspapers also joined this smear campaign.

On the morning of March 15, "The Washington Post" published a large photo in a prominent position on the front page, accompanied by sharp text:

"Umbrella Properties' so-called public welfare is just a guise to cheat government subsidies and social praise! Cutting corners, completely disregarding the life and death of the beneficiaries, its hypocritical face is fully exposed."

This report was like a sharp sword piercing the "public welfare" signboard of Umbrella Properties.

On the same day, "The New York Times" also published a commentary article, questioning the impure motives of Umbrella Properties' public welfare activities from a professional perspective, claiming that it was just using the name of public welfare to pursue commercial interests.

Then every day,

there were a large number of negative reports about Umbrella Properties.

March 20,

Public opinion smearing, adding more material again.

While smearing the company's overall image, they began to spread negative news targeting high-level figures of Umbrella Properties.

"The New York Post" claimed that a certain senior executive of the company was deeply involved in a major scandal, behaving improperly and seriously violating moral ethics.

Although there was no solid evidence, a large number of newspapers still reprinted it, causing this news to spread rapidly.

Immediately after, "The Washington Post" claimed that after "in-depth investigation," it was discovered that another senior executive had a record of illegal crimes in his early years, but did not announce any specific details.

As time went on, this smear offensive starting on March 10 intensified under the push of major television stations and media.

All parties echoed each other, constantly throwing out new "fierce materials" every day, continuously portraying Umbrella Properties as an evil, hypocritical enterprise colluding with crime.

Pressing step by step!

Every move was ruthless!

Soon,

new tricks came again,

parades and demonstrations.

On the streets of Los Angeles, outside the Umbrella headquarters building, hundreds of people held various placards, written with words like "Umbrella Properties is a hotbed of crime," "Expose the hypocritical mask of property public welfare," "Severely punish property colluding with crime," and started a grand parade.

At the same time, in major cities like New York and Washington, similar protest activities also appeared.

American Broadcasting Company (ABC) reported: "Dear viewers, what you are seeing now is a large-scale protest against Umbrella Properties that broke out on the streets of Los Angeles. The people are filled with righteous indignation, extremely dissatisfied with the so-called illegal acts of this company, they demand the truth, they demand Umbrella Properties to be responsible for their own behavior!"

Fox News Network (FOX) also captured scenes of similar protest activities in major cities like New York and Washington.

"In New York, the people also responded one after another, taking to the streets."

"We can see that the scene is a bit chaotic, and the police are trying hard to maintain..."

The reporting screens of major television stations kept switching, from Los Angeles to New York, and then to Washington, scenes of protests impacting the audience's eyeballs...

Intensifying!

A storm was coming!

430 South Capitol Street, Southeast, Washington, D. C.,

This was the headquarters building of the Democratic National Committee.

Top floor conference room,

The Democratic Party's iconic blue flag hanging on the wall.

The Democratic Party leader sat at the head of the long table, his eyes looking at the group of senior management sitting around the conference table.

"Now everyone is clear about this Umbrella Properties matter. That group of people in the Republican Party is attacking Umbrella Properties."

"Today, let's discuss whether we should take action to help..."

Everyone expressed their opinions one after another.

"Umbrella Company is too large, and it is led by Chinese, which does not conform to our interests."

"What the Republican Party is doing is what we want to do."

"Also, during the last election, Umbrella Properties actually didn't support our Democratic Party, this is clearly betrayal! We must teach them a profound lesson."

Someone slapped the table and said angrily.

There were also people who supported Umbrella Properties company.

"Everyone, don't forget, Umbrella Properties is our natural ally. They didn't support our election last time, but they didn't support the Republican Party either, right? And, it was also for a reason; it was because we wanted to occupy the management rights of Happiness Properties that led to Umbrella Properties and us drifting apart."

"That can't be said like that..."

Everyone said one word after another, opinions were divided into two factions, arguing endlessly.

10 minutes later,

"Quiet!"

The party leader, who had been silent, raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.