Warner Brothers Records' latest online gaffe?

You may recall last year's news about an incident in which a Warner Brothers Records executive was accused of faking fan responses on weblogs to promote a new band -- a practice some call "Ashleeturfing," after the dubiously-promoted and talent-impaired pop personality Ashlee Simpson.

Apparently, they don't quite have the internet thing down yet. Modern Musician blog now reports of WB folks posting entire faux online conversations to promote WB artists. If the accusations are true, someone needs a mandatory trip to intarweb Traffic School.

Link. Previously: Boing Boing post -- Warners ask MP3 blog to post their music, "Xeni Tech" on NPR's Day to Day: MP3 Blogs and Music with a Twist, and NYT story: Warner's tryst with Web bloggers hits a sour note (link is reg-free). (via Nick Taylor and Jonathan El-Bizri on the pho list)

Update: A source asking to remain anonymous tells Boing Boing that WB had nothing to do with the Craigslist posts in question, and says they were not the result of a paid street team or similarly fee-driven promo process involving the band's label. The question of who's responsible may or may not ever be resolved. Regardless of whodunit, the public impression it creates about the band -- that they require sneaky 'net publicity to get any notice -- is negative, and unfairly so.