Jay Byrne

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Jay Byrne (born 1962) is an American writer, former senior government official and entrepreneur. Byrne is president and founder of v-Fluence, a public relations and reputation management firm. He is a frequent public speaker on the use of the Internet and has published several articles on new media and communications. He is a contributing author to Let Them Eat Precaution published by the American Enterprise Institute.

Contents

Career

As former political campaign operative Byrne is credited with executing a range of aggressive communications tactics, including the 1992 presidential campaign's Chicken George attack on George H. W. Bush. [1] Byrne was Deputy Assistant Administrator for Legislative and Public Affairs at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in the Clinton Administration from 1993 to 1997. [2] During this time he also served as a White House spokesperson for numerous presidential and administration foreign policy initiatives including the 1994 G7 Jobs Summit and the Greater Horn of Africa Famine Initiative. [3] Prior to joining USAID Byrne held communication positions on the Clinton-Gore presidential campaign, for Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn and for Congressman Joseph Patrick Kennedy II (D-MA).

After serving in the Clinton Administration, Byrne headed up corporate communications for Monsanto Company from 1997 to 2001. [4] [5] As Monsanto's director of corporate communications, Byrne focused on building acceptance for the company's controversial genetically modified crops. [6] After leaving Monsanto, Byrne founded the reputation management firm v-Fluence through which he led efforts to counter opposition to products created by agrochemical companies. [6] According to a lawsuit against the agrochemical firm Syngenta, Byrne and v-Fluence helped to suppress information about links between Syngenta's herbicide paraquat and the development of Parkinson's disease. The lawsuit also claims that Byrne and v-Fluence helped to "neutralize" critics of the herbicide. [6] In 2014, v-Fluence launched a private social network called Bonus Eventus. According to investigative reports by Lighthouse Reports, The Guardian , Le Monde and others, the purpose of Bonus Eventus is to act as a platform for coordinating attacks against pesticide critics. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Byrne attended St. John's Preparatory School and graduated from Tufts University.

Books

Other publications

References

  1. ↑ Why the Chickens Have Come Home To Roost This Campaign Season, by Reid Epstein, Wall Street Journal, September 17, 2014.
  2. ↑ Foreign Aid's Impact Is Felt Close to Home, by Marc lacey, Los Angeles Times, October 23, 1995.
  3. ↑ President Clinton's Greater Horn of Africa Initiative Archived March 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Debate between Monsanto and Jeremy Rifkin, Democracy Now Radio, February 22, 1999.
  5. 1 2 Burns, Andy; Morris, Nathan; Gibbs, Margot; DeBre, Elena; Gillam, Carey (27 September 2024). "High-profile Australian industry players part of invite-only social network where pro-chemical lobby shares 'wiki' dossiers of known critics". ABC News. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Gillam, Carey; Gibbs, Margot; DeBre, Elena (27 September 2024). "Revealed: the US government-funded 'private social network' attacking pesticide critics". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  7. ↑ Foucart, Stéphane; Gibbs, Margot; DeBre, Elena (27 September 2024). "Investigation reveals mass profiling of 'opponents' of the agrochemical industry". Le Monde. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  8. ↑ "Poison PR". Lighthouse Reports. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
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