The depth tech companies are willing to go to make competitors look bad is more often than not a bit extreme. Samsung, a Korean company that has sold more devices than any other company company in the last couple of months, in an ill-advised decision decided to hire students back in April to write debilitating comments against HTC and praise Samsung.

In response, Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission slapped a $341,300 fine on Samsung on 24/10/13, along with a smaller fine for two of its marketing agencies. “This is the first case of its kind in Taiwan that a company has concealed its genuine status while attacking a rival,” commission spokesman Sun Lih-chyun told AFP. Samsung has also been accused of offering payments to Android developers in exchange for positive mentions of the company’s initiatives.

The practice is officially called Astrosurfing and is a common practise in the world of politics and business.