Check out this fairly outrageous piece of advertorial guff in today’s Daily Telegraph, with the imprimatur of their technology reporter Stephen Fenech:

A NEW product that’s smaller than a five cent piece but powerful enough to shield us from the potentially harmful electromagnetic radiation generated by mobile phones and other electronic devices, has just been released.

The Qlink Mini employs patented Sympathetic Resonance Technology (SRT) which can maintain the strength of naturally occurring protective energy systems within our bodies.

The Qlink Mini, priced at $48, is programmed with naturally occurring frequencies which resonate with our body’s energy system just like a piano string would resonate with a tuning fork.

Ooh! “Sympathetic Resonance Technology”! “Naturally occurring frequencies which resonate with our body’s energy system”! As @NewtonMark tweeted:

What kind of dark global conspiracy is keeping Q-Link’s amazing technology away from #newinventors? Royal commission!

Check out the scary wavy red lines that will attack you unless you get this “scientifically-proven” product:

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The story includes the price and website of the product it’s clearly advertising, without of course any alternative view being published as to the accuracy of the claims about the problem, or the effectiveness of the product, or any alternatives. You know, journalism. And there’s no “this is a paid advertisement”, either.

I know few of us reading this site would consider The Daily Telegraph as possessing any credibility it could inappropriately bestow upon any dodgy new snake-oil – but clearly its readers think it does, and it’s important to note when they’re being exploited as suckers.

(Via @mpesce.)

UPDATE: It’s more appalling than I’d realised, because it appears that the “journalist”, Stephen Fenech, is the brother of Mario Fenech, who is a paid promoter of Q-Link products.

What a coincidence! And how mysterious that Stephen didn’t disclose that in his article!

(Via Bill Dennis in the comments.)

UPDATE (10/11): Also coverage by Jason Brown, Crikey‘s Stephen Downes, and, as of Monday 8th November, Media Watch. And Chrys Stephenson argues why this story is really important.