PROCTER & GAMBLE: STOP THE LIES!

Wait! You got it all wrong! (Article Update): By mid 2007, I have found it necessary to update this article due to both the continued prevalence of the original hoax letters and newer variations that have arisen. Some of the most surprising mail I have received actually argues against the facts established in this article. Individuals professing to be concerned believers have written to say that they had witnessed some of the alleged events and have told us that we have "gotten it all wrong", claiming that we are the ones spreading lies. Our response to these claims now follows this article, so make sure you read first it if you are inclined to send us such a letter.

What would you do if you received a letter like the following?... Date: Monday, July 19, 1999 The President of Proctor (sic) & Gamble appeared on the Sally Jesse Raphael Show on Monday, July 19, 1999. He announced that "due to the openness of our society", he was coming out of the closet about his association with the church of Satan. He stated that a large portion of his profits from Proctor & Gamble products goes to support this satanic church. When asked by Sally Jesse if stating this on TV would hurt his business, he replied: "There are not enough Christians in the United States to make a difference." P&G Product list includes: Cleaning Supplies - Bold, Cascade, Cheer, Joy, Comet, Dash, Spic&Span, Tide, Top Job, Oxidol, Ivory, Dreft, Gain, Mr. Clean, Lest Oil & Bounty towels Food - Duncan Hines, Fisher Nuts, Fisher Mints & Fisher Dehydrated Fruits, Jif Peanut Butter Coffee - Folgers & High Point Shortening & Oils - Crisco, Puritan & Fluffo Deodorants - Secret & Sure Diapers - Luvs & Pampers Hair Care - Lilt, Head & Shoulders, Prell, Pert, Vidal Sassoon & Ivory Acne Products - Clearasil Mouthwash & Toothpaste - Scope, Crest & Gleem Personal Hygiene- Always & Attend undergarments Lotions - Oil of Olay & Wondra Soap - Camay, Coast, Ivory, Lava, Safeguard, Zest & Oil of Olay Fabric Softener - Downy, Bounce Citrus Punch - Sunny Delight Medication - Aleve, Pepto-Bismol If you are not sure about the product, look for "Proctor & Gamble" written on the products, or the symbol of a ram's horn, which will appear on each product beginning on January 1, 2000. The ram's horn will form the 666, which is known as Satan's number. Christians should remember that if they purchase any of these products, they will be contributing to the church of Satan. Inform other Christians about this and STOP buying Proctor & Gamble products. Let's show Proctor & Gamble that there are enough Christians to make a difference! On a previous Jenny Jones show, the owner of Proctor & Gamble said that if Satan would help him prosper he would give his heart and soul to him. Then he gave Satan credit for his riches. Any one interested in seeing this tape, should send $3 to Sally Transcripts, 515 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019. We urge you to make copies of this and pass it on to as many people as possible. Liz Claiborne also professes to worship Satan and recently openly admitted on the Oprah Winfrey show that half of her profits go towards the church of Satan. This needs to stop! [Many versions — and there are a number — end with something like this...] I RECEIVED THIS AND THOUGHT I WOULD PASS IT ON Having received and read such a letter, if you are like many Christians, you would do one of two things... You would ignore it because you ignore all calls for boycotts, or you would take it to heart and perhaps forward it to some friends (whether or not you intend to actively participate in any boycott). These days, with the quick and easy medium of e-mail, more and more people choose to pass it on -- and often to a large list of friends and acquaintances. Unfortunately there needs to be another course of action. YOU NEED TO CHECK IT OUT. Why? Because in this case (and in a host of other instances as well) IT'S A LIE!!! When Christians become the source of lies something is seriously wrong. Yes, I know many do it unwittingly — but that's the problem. As followers of Jesus Christ, people who should love the truth, we need to be careful in all our dealings and talk — whether with Christians or non-Christians. Moreover, if our actions or speech bring discredit to the cause of Christ, we need to do all we can to correct it. Why Procter & Gamble is the target of such malicious attacks is a mystery. I find it hard to believe that a Christian would have started such a thing, yet professing Christian individuals and churches have definitely continued them. Worse still, some are updating these false petitions to give them a sense of current urgency and, of course, adding to the list of products that are supposed to be boycotted. Again, I would doubt that any Christian is involved in that intentional deception — but many a non-Christian would like to see the church discredited in any way possible. In these false causes, they have certainly found their means. Back when I first wrote about this Procter & Gamble rumor in 1992, I already had a number of variations of the letter in my possession, many of them having been forwarded to me by individuals — and at least one from a church bulletin board. By 1992, these letters had already undergone more than ten years of circulation and alteration. What, perhaps, is most amazing is that these early forms all had to be circulated from individual to individual either in person, or by postal mail, or perhaps by fax in the late 80's onward. All of these were inefficient in comparison to the mass distribution that e-mail has shown itself to be capable of. To show you how the same lies are merely getting new packaging (and rapid distribution) here's an early version to compare with the more recent one... The President of Proctor & Gamble appeared on the Phil Donahue Show on Monday, March 1, 1991. He announced that due to the openness of our society, he was coming out of the closet about his association with the church of Satan. He stated that a large portion of the profit from the Proctor & Gamble products goes to the support of the church. When asked by Mr. Donahue if stating this on television would hurt his business, he replied, "There are not enough Christians in the United States to make a difference." Below is a list of Proctor & Gamble products: [A typical list of products appears here. The list is updated over the years] If you are not sure about the product, look for symbol of the ram's horns, which will appear on each product beginning in April. The ram's horns stand for the numbers 666, which is known as Satan's number. Certain P & G products are from an enormous backstock and the new symbol will not appear for quite a while. People should remember that if they buy any of these products, they will be making a conscious part in the support of the church of Satan. Inform other people about this, stop buying from Proctor & Gamble and let's prove to the president of Proctor & Gamble that there are enough Christians or people who care to make a difference. On a recent Merv Griffin Show, a group of cultists were featured, of which one was the owner of Proctor & Gamble. He said he told Satan that if he would help him prosper, then he would give his heart and soul to him. He then gave Satan all the credit for his riches. The Symbol described: Ram's horns with three sets of stars placed in such a way that if the stars in each set are joined they form the number 666. [Some versions — and there are a number — end with something like this...] p.s. We are the difference !!! The earliest forms of this hoax seem to have begun in the early 80's when some alarmist decided that the P & G moon and stars logo was a symbol of Satanism. Every one of the letters, over all these years, have attempted to tie P & G to Satanism in some way. While there appears to be occasional ebbs and surges in the popularity and circulation of these letters, they have never have died out completely. (Some known surges, 1982, 1985, 1991-92, 1999). The updating and changing of the material being circulated seems to always start new rounds of circulation. From early variations that directly attacked the standard P&G moon and stars logo, later forms imply (or state) that a new more sinister logo is on the way (or has already been changed, and will show up any day now). For all the years that this falsehood has been circulated, it has never happened and according to P&G is not going to happen. It should be noted that many of the letters use not only a main show (i.e. Phil Donahue or Sally Jesse Raphael) but also a secondary 'witness' (i.e. Merv Griffin or Oprah Winfrey or Jenny Jones). The latest forms often reference three different talk shows. So, in response, lets examine all the facts. In order, here's what we need to consider. The history of the original logo and P & G's founders. The Phil Donahue Show The Merv Griffin Show The Sally Jesse Raphael Show The Oprah Winfrey Show The Jenny Jones Show Cover-ups: The Talk Show Problem Procter & Gamble's response to these allegations Responses, reactions and retractions of others. What should be done about this.   History of the original logo and founders The P&G trademark originated around 1851, when many products did not carry a visible brand name, as a symbol for Star brand candles. This way, even people who could not read could see P&G's trademark and know they would get consistent quality. The original trademark was refined into a star which multiplied into thirteen stars for the 13 original American colonies and a man-in-the-moon, a popular decorative fancy of the 1800's. P&G management recognized the importance of the man-in-the-moon element when they eliminated it from the trademark in the 1860's. A merchant "down river" rejected a shipment of Star Candles, an early P&G product, which carried the modified trademark. He chided the Company by letter for sending imitations. The moon promptly went back into service, and the trademark was officially registered with the U.S. Patent Office in 1882. Some of their variations (from P & G) are as follows... As for the company itself, it began in a humble fashion. Established in 1837, Procter & Gamble started as a small, family operated soap and candle company in Cincinnati, Ohio. From that modest beginning, P&G has grown into a global company which today has sales in over 140 countries and on-the-ground operations in more than 70 countries. The Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio provides us with an interesting look at the founder's CHRISTIAN beliefs. William Procter, the co-founder, was a devout Christian and an active Episcopalian who gave generously of his time, talent, and treasure for the benefit of Ohio churches, communities, and particularly the Diocese of Southern Ohio. Biographical information indicates that he made a personal pledge to tithe his income before he and James Gamble ever produced their first bar of soap. His grandson, William Cooper Procter, and the Procter family continued this tradition with great resolve, providing buildings, land, and endowments that continue to sustain a vast number of the religious, social, and evangelical ministries of the Episcopal Church throughout Ohio and around the world. [For example] An 1100 acre farm donated by the widow of the grandson, in 1954, is now the Procter Conference Center, the center for many of our diocesan conferences and programs. The Procter family's parish church has a beautiful rectory still being used, and built through their generosity. (Excerpts from letters of two bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio, dated 1990 and 1999). This church also attests to the fact that subsequent executives of this corporation have been active members of their congregations as well. This brief glimpse of history shows that it is obvious that the intent of the original owners, and the designers of the P&G logo, was not Satanic. (If Satanic concepts can be read into every symbol using stars [because Satanists and witches use star shaped pentagrams], even the US flag would become suspect. Because a Satanic or New Age Group has adopted any symbol, the mere use of a similar symbol by anyone else cannot be automatically used to show association. That's like saying that anyone using a rainbow is a New Ager, solely because they have adopted and commonly used that symbol.) Phil Donahue Phil Donahue has issued numerous letters regarding this matter. Two signed copies I have in my possession are dated August 2, 1991 and April 5, 1995. The text of both is as follows...

To Whom It May Concern: It seems impossible that the rumor of an appearance by the President of Procter & Gamble on DONAHUE is still circulating after more than a decade. There is absolutely nothing to this rumor. The president of P&G has never appeared on DONAHUE, nor has any other P&G executive. Anyone who claims to have seen such a broadcast is either mistaken or lying. It never happened! Merv Griffin A signed letter (April 19, 1990) from Peter Barsocchini, a vice president of Merv Griffin Enterprises, again testifies to the falsehood of the circulating letters. As you are aware, a rumor has been circulating to the effect that an executive of the Procter and Gamble Company appeared on THE MERV GRIFFIN SHOW and allegedly claimed "satanic influence" was responsible for his success. To set the record straight, no executive of the Procter & Gamble Company has ever appeared on the show, nor has anyone on the show ever spoken about satanic symbols or Procter & Gamble products. I am at a loss to explain the origin of this rumor, but please be assured, there is no truth to it. Sally Jesse Raphael A signed letter from Maurice Tunick, executive producer of the Sally Show (August 16,1999), reads like the others... To Whom It May Concern: There is no truth to the rumor that the CEO of Procter & Gamble appeared on the Sally® Show and embraced Satanism. Nothing about this rumor is true. Please do not send any money to the Sally® Show or request a videotape, as this is a complete hoax. In addition, Sally's web site (FAQ.) contains this statement... The president of Procter & Gamble has NEVER appeared on the SALLY JESSY RAPHAEL show, nor, to our knowledge, did he ever make the remarks attributed to him as described in the e-mail that is currently being circulated. (Furthermore, we have not offered transcripts nor videotapes for several years and have not been at the address listed in the e-mail for over a year.) A later (and updated) response on her web site has similar content... Sally listens: Rumor has it that the president of Procter and Gamble appeared on your show and said that he was associated with the Church of Satan. I would appreciate more information if you have any, perhaps a tape of the show if available. If this is a hoax, please let me know. Sally Sez: The rumor going around that the president of Procter and Gamble appeared on The Sally Show and announced he was a member of the church of Satan is not true. This a hoax that's been going around in one form or another for the past 20 years...only originally, it concerned the Phil Donahue Show...then evolved to the Jenny Jones Show...and now it's evolved to The Sally Show. The president of Procter and Gamble has NEVER appeared on The Sally Show...NEVER. Nor has any other person in authority at P&G. Any president of a multi-national corporation (including the head of P&G or Liz Claiborne) would be immediately fired by the board of directors if he or she did such a thing. Also, profits from any such corporation go to the stockholders...not a church designated by the president. Do not send money in to get a transcript. We do not provide transcripts or video tapes of our shows to the public. Frankly, this thing has gotten out of hand. If we had this man on our show, and he had said what it's alleged he said, we would have scored a broadcasting scoop and would have trumpeted it to all the newspapers. It would have been to the show's advantage. But there was no scoop, and there were no headlines. Oprah Winfrey The Liz Claiborne allegations appear to be a recent addition to a long list of falsehoods in the circulating P&G letters. I do not, as of yet, have a letter from the Oprah show. But when I do, it is sure to read like all the others. The statements are completely false. The pattern here should be clear by now. Jenny Jones Finally, Ed Glavin, Jenny Jones' executive producer, lays to rest the statements made about her show (August 6, 1999)... To Whom It May Concern: It has come to our attention there is a rumor that the President of Procter & Gamble appeared on The Jenny Jones Show® discussing Satanism. This is absolutely untrue. Neither the President of P&G, nor any other representative of P&G, has ever appeared on The Jenny Jones Show®. I encourage anyone who hears of such a rumor to let people know this never happened. Cover-ups: The Talk Show Problem In a world of conspiracies, many still refuse to believe even clear cut statements. When P&G and every talk-show issues statements denying the fabricated events being circulated, some refuse to still believe. Of those, some would never be persuaded by any amount of evidence, but for those who would accept the challenge, here's an area to consider. With millions of viewers in Canada and the US, owning millions of VCRs, why hasn't even one tape been produced to support these Satanic allegations? I'm not talking about faint claims of being able to get such a tape, or that the cousin of my friend's uncle has one, but an in-the-hand original or copy. You see, no one has one. The reason? Because they don't exist. Procter & Gamble's response While initially ignoring the allegations, apart from issuing strong (and repeated) statements to the contrary (try about 150,000 phone calls and letters in the 80's alone) — perhaps hoping they would go away — P&G has had to take more aggressive action over the years. This especially became necessary when at least one competitor was using the allegations to their financial advantage. More than 10 years ago P&G began to hire specific security consultants (forces) to track the sources of these lies and those who maliciously spread them. By 1999, Procter and Gamble had filed 15 lawsuits, six against Amway distributors. All were concluded in P&G's favor. When even courts of law, with the burden of proof necessary for lawsuits, ascertain that these fabrications are outright lies, how much more testimony should we need?! In fact, without evidence to the contrary (not unsubstantiated allegations), Procter and Gamble's statements should be accepted at face value. Responses of Others Two Amway distributors, James & Linda Newton, who lost a legal suit against them by P&G (to the tune of $75,000!) issued this formal statement... We want to set the record straight. The ugly rumors linking Procter & Gamble to Satanism are completely false. After our own investigation, we have concluded that the Satanism rumors are lies and we are issuing this statement to help Procter & Gamble maintain its fine reputation. In the early 90's, Human Life International (HLI), who had circulated one of the false letters in their Canadian newsletter, become a prominent source for these lies. They had done so, without research or verification, by solely relying on the source coming from one prominent member; the Superior General of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Having been made aware of the gross inaccuracies in their published statement, they later (February 11, 1992) printed and distributed a formal apology to P&G. Their letter of apology ended by saying... Human Life International in Canada apologizes for any harm caused by its earlier publication and hopes that this letter will be spread by and to everyone in the hope that the matter at hand might soon be laid to rest. Hosts of other church leaders and evangelists have issued statements in support of Procter and Gamble in regards to this matter. Even columnist Ann Landers. Everyone who has studied the matter has come to the same conclusion, there are no truth to the lies tying P&G to Satanism. This too should speak volumes. WHAT SHOULD BE DONE The Bible tells us to establish things out of the mouths of two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15, 2 Corinthians 13:1). With the multitudes of witnesses, whose testimony we have now provided, the truth about all these Procter and Gamble allegations should be well known. They're a complete FABRICATION, and a MALICIOUS LIE. No one, and especially Christians, have any business trafficking in lies. Unless we (all Christians) go out of our way to help stop these lies, sad-to-say I'll likely be writing an update a few years from now, adding the denials of another generation of talk show hosts. Let's stand NOW for the truth. Since Christians and churches have been some of the most instrumental in circulating these lies concerning Procter & Gamble, it brings discredit to Jesus Christ. If you don't think the secular world sees it in this fashion, just consider these excerpts from an editorial in The Freeman Courier (SD, USA. February 1, 1989), entitled "A run on the rumor mill." It should be an embarrassment to those calling themselves Christian. The spreading of rumors and untruths, scripture notes, is a sin. And yet, a good number of people calling themselves Christians across this country - and that includes this community - have helped perpetuate and spread a vicious rumor contained in a letter alleging a link between the Procter & Gamble Company and the Church of Satan... Furthermore, the rumor-letter refers to the "owners of Procter & Gamble Corp." Procter & Gamble is a large company owned by stockholders, not an individual... Who's getting hurt? Obviously, Procter & Gamble which is losing at least some sales... But it has also hurt the credibility of the church to be party to such misguided efforts... Rumors are a poison. We have a choice to either spread them or bury them. This one should have been buried long ago. In conclusion, if you receive a petition or letter like this one regarding P&G - investigate it. Don't spread it unless you know it to be true. And, if you were involved in spreading these malicious mistruths, write a letter of apology (recognize that no matter how unintentional, it was still wrong — unintentional sin is still sin!) and circulate it to everyone you sent the original to. Better still, even if you have never circulated these false letters, circulate this one or another one in support of P&G — in the name of the church we owe it to them (1 Peter 2:12, Matthew 5:16).

Our response to those who claim we are wrong For the record, this is an example (2007) of some of the letters we have received in regards to the above article... I was looking at your website appealing to stop the spread of false rumors. I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but you are definitely spreading one yourself. You told the story of a supposed false rumor about Liz Claiborne being on the Oprah Winfrey show as follows: "Soon after she retired from her company in 1989, a rumor spread that she had appeared on Oprah's show and said that she donated thirty percent of her profits to the church. Oprah supposedly asked her which church, to which Liz allegedly replied, "The Church of Satan." This rumor then picks up where the other one left off, with the show going to a commercial and Oprah returning alone sans her Claiborne outfit." That is definitely not a false rumor, I watched the show myself, and after the commercial, Oprah returned alone, wearing a bathrobe. Although Liz Claiborne has obvious reasons for denying this event, I can only speculate on Oprah's reasons for denial might be. It happened. I saw what I saw and heard what I heard. I was shocked and apalled, and haven't bought an item of Liz Claiborne apparel or accessories since. I cannot believe the extent of the ridiculous cover-up that has gone on about this absolutely 100% true rumor. I'm writing to you because you seem to have honorable intentions with your website. But, at least in this instance, your intentions are not founded in truth. Hopefully, innocently, you are actually the ones spreading a false rumor. Before you send us a similar letter, consider the response I have provided to every similar letter thus far... After doing more research and still finding ABSOLUTELY no evidence for what you claim to have seen, I still stand by my article. This is the era of VCR’s, (and now Tivo, DVRs, Google videos, youtube.com, etc.), not to mention that individual television studios/stations routinely (for many decades now) backup programs for re-broadcast... if something as dramatic as what is professed to have happened actual did, you can be sure that someone would have posted it, or made it available for broadcast or a news show. This has not happened. (In fact, it’s this prevalence of recordings that make it virtually impossible for any public figure to hide anything that was publicly recorded... clips keep showing up years after the fact). Lack of such evidence cannot be blamed on some anti-Christian conspiracy either, as hosts of Christians work for these studio/stations, and equally own recording units. Out of the 100’s of millions of such units in the USA and Canada (who typically get the same programming), there is still NO evidence. Even the early claim (i.e. 1989) come from the VCR era. Find me a shred of actual evidence and I’ll gladly reconsider my article... not to mention post the material on our website. Until then, the article stands. Brent PS. There are no “100% true rumors” – if it’s 100% true, it becomes a fact supported by evidence. If it’s not supported by evidence, only hearsay, it’s trading in gossip. I must confess I'm perplexed over those who vigorously argue that they witnessed one of these events that never happened. It's actually quite rare (in my mail) for a claimant to have witnessed it first hand, usually it was a brother, sister, uncle, cousin, neighbor, or the like. Of course, the more people removed the more likely the facts got distorted (or invented). Returning to the rare individuals who claim first-person knowledge, of course without any evidence, I can only echo what a lawyer friend of mine said... "Human memory is inherently unreliable." Perhaps this was why God required complete agreement from at least two or three witnesses for any conviction under Old Testament law (Deuteronomy 19:15)! In fact, allegations in the church are still to be settled by the same standard (Matthew 18:16; 2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19). In regards to the circulating hoaxes, these isolated professed witnesses certainly don't meet that requirement, they differ on details ranging from when the alleged shows aired, to what actually took place in them. Hosts of actual witnesses, in consistent opposition, have far more credibility. The truth remains a fact fixed in time; lies and deception seem capable of never ending change. Seek the truth!