Manipulation

Manipulation is Big Alcohol’s activity to control its image. The alcohol industry engages in manipulation activities to protect and cultivate their image and the values of their brands. Deploying manipulation strategies serves for Big Alcohol to appear as “good corporate citizens”. The focus of the Dubious Five strategy of manipulation is the alcohol company, their brands and value. Examples are Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), green-washing, pink-washing, rainbow-washing, or white-washing activities.

Latest cases of Manipulation

Misconduct Report Mar 4 '26 AB InBev, Grupo Modelo
AB InBev Turned Mexico City’s Main Square into a Beer Ad for 400,000 People

On 1 March 2026, Grupo Modelo – the Mexican subsidiary of AB InBev, the world’s largest beer producer – staged a free Shakira ...
Misconduct Report Feb 27 '26 Ginebra San Miguel, San Miguel, San Miguel Brewery Inc.
Targeting Gen Z: The Philippine Alcohol Industry’s Youth Recruitment Strategy

The Philippine alcohol industry is running a coordinated campaign to recruit Gen Z consumers – using flavored products, influencer ...
Misconduct Report Feb 4 '26 AB InBev
Olympic Athletes Now Sell Beer for AB InBev – Under the Banner of “Relaxation”

Ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, AB InBev is once again weaponising sport to push its Corona brand – this time ...
Misconduct Report Feb 1 '26
IARD Undermines Dry January to Protect an Industry That Profits From High-Risk Alcohol Use

IARD – funded by 13 of the world’s largest alcohol companies – used a trade media interview to discourage people from trying a ...
Misconduct Report Sep 17 '25 AB InBev
AB InBev Embeds Itself in São Paulo’s Health System

A tool used in São Paulo – Modera SP – is presented as a public health innovation to help people reflect on their alcohol use. ...
Misconduct Report Sep 2 '25 AB InBev, Ambev
Ambev’s Karaoke Cure: When Songs Replace Real Alcohol Policy

Ambev, owned by AB InBev, is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Festa do Peão de Barretos with a new country song about ...
Misconduct Report Sep 1 '25
Not So Responsible – Buy More Booze to Win: Premier Distilleries’ Predatory Promo in Uganda

Premier Distilleries Limited (PDL) staged a “responsibility” roadshow in Luweero while running a sales campaign that does the exact ...
Misconduct Report Aug 18 '25 Bacardi, Pernod Ricard
Big Alcohol’s Global ‘Responsible Drinking’ Drive Turns Alcohol Harm into a Personal Problem

“Responsible drinking” is one of the alcohol industry’s most deceptive tools. It shifts the blame for harm onto individuals while ...
Misconduct Report Apr 29 '25 AB InBev
Corona’s “Natural Freezers” Distract from the Beer Industry’s Massive Ecological Footprint

Corona, owned by global alcohol giant AB InBev, is once again pushing a shiny PR campaign dressed up as environmental action – this time ...
More articles on Manipulation

Read more about the dubious five

Deception

Deception is Big Alcohol’s activity to hinder and obscure public recognition of the real effects of alcohol. The focus of the Dubious Five strategy of deception is the public’s recognition of the full extent of alcohol harm, the understanding of the risk caused by alcohol products, and the root causes of alcohol harm and their most effective alcohol policy solutions. Using deception strategies Big Alcohol seeks to fuel cognitive dissonance among the public.

Political interference

Political interference, or lobbying, is Big Alcohol’s activity to eliminate or minimize any alcohol policy effort that would threaten sales and profits. The focus of this Dubious Five strategy is the decision-makers and opinion leaders with the power to shape and decide alcohol policy decisions. Tactics of political interference are delay, derail, or even destroy alcohol policy initiatives, and to divide coalitions supporting alcohol policy initiatives. Big Alcohol is paying lobbyists and lobby front groups to interfere in public health policy making around the world.

Promotion

Promotion, or any marketing strategies, is Big Alcohol’s activity to drive alcohol availability and acceptability, to perpetuate the alcohol norm, and to place alcohol at the center of people’s thoughts and preferences, communities’ practices, and societies’ customs. The focus of this Dubious Five strategy is the people and their beliefs about alcohol products, the public and their attitudes about and behavior around alcohol products, and the consumers and how much, how often they buy and consume alcohol brands.

Sabotage

Sabotage is Big Alcohol's deliberate actions to damage and obstruct people's access to public goods. This Dubious Five strategy comprises calculated actions to break and undermine society's rules, laws, and regulations. This strategy also includes willful activity that jeopardizes people's access to essential resources such as water and basic food. And it includes Big Alcohol's deliberate activities to damage or disrupt the proper functioning of society's institutions, preventing them from addressing alcohol-related harm in the public interest. Examples of this strategy include corruption, bribery, tax evasion and avoidance, price-fixing cartels, violations of alcohol marketing rules, and other unethical practices, such as depleting scarce drinking water.