Signs are pointing toward Samsung biting back after Apple won that $1 billion patent court case in 2012. But they’re not fighting back in the courts. Indications are that Samsung may be actively trolling pro-Apple content on the web, and populating consumer websites with positive reviews of Samsung products, en-masse.

Fortune columnist, Philip Elmer-DeWitt posed the question in his column over the weekend, asking if the tactics that Samsung admitted to using against HTC are now being used to target Apple. Check out what happened to that column:

In the space of a few hours, more than a thousand votes were cast on the DISQUS feedback system, voting down any comment remortely anti-Samsung and voting up anything – no matter how inane, in-artful or wrong – that disparaged Apple, the thesis, or me.

The pro Apple responses were soon burried while Samsung comments flourished. A writer known as Jake_in_Seoul, pointed out that Samsung is comprised of 80 companies – including ad agencies and credit card, securities and financial institutions – which gives them “a wide range of expertise and global connections at hand,” if they choose to conduct corporate warfare.

The commenter continued, saying, “Samsung is not generally well liked by the Korean poeple”  and it is “career suicide” to write anything bad about the company. This comment prompted Elmer-DeWett to repost it in his next column, to prove that he cannot be silenced.

Samsung described a report in which it was proven that college students were being paid to post negative comments about HTC in Taiwan, as being an “unfortunate incident” that violated “fundamental principles.” Samsung then took to its Facebook page to make mention that its Taiwan unit had “ceased all marketing activities that involve the posting of anonymous comments.”

Jake_in_Seoul commented:

Reuters, the WSJ, and FT, etc. only write puff pieces that raise doubt as to whether the material was drafted by Samsung PR.

Take, for example, these two separate news pieces that covered the same first-quarter results posted by Apple supplier, LG Display. The Wall Street Journal’s story read, “LG Display Gets Boost From Apple,” claiming that LG was likely to receive more business from Apple as they introduce new product upgrades.

The same story received this headline from Reuters, “Slowdown in Apple orders weighs on LG Display.”

The latter article was written by a reporter based in Seoul (Samsung’s headquarters), and quoted an analyst from the Korean Investment & Securities, and a worker from Samsung Securities. The reporter also analysed sequential financial quarters. But LG Display reported a “sharp improvement” in sales from the previous year. Reuters reported that LG Displays was:

…down 74% from the previous quarter, hurt by a seasonal slowdown in demand and by weaker sales to Apple, which is scheduled to report quarterly results on Tuesday.

Contrary to the Reuters report, the Wall Street Journal reported that LG “swung to a net profit in the first quarter as tablet screen sales to Apple Inc increased…”

[Source: IDownloadBlog]