Apple was busted today for deleting multiple customer forum posts about a negative Consumer Reports review of its new iPhone. Maybe an Apple.com moderator simply went rogue, but now the company will have to deal with the PR fallout.

The deletions were first reported by the Unofficial Apple Weblog but quickly spread to sites like Wired. Apple has since allowed some discussion forum threads referencing the Consumer Reports review, which discouraged people from buying the iPhone due to the phone's reception issues. But in the meantime the Financial Times, Fox News etc. have begun publishing stories about the censorship, also referencing the negative review, making this particular story a sort of double whammy for Apple. For a company that rightly prides itself on its ability to manipulate the press, Apple somehow did exactly the wrong thing, PR wise, in this situation. Second defective product's the charm!