sMoRTy71.com: Are Microsoft bloggers pushing propaganda about the XBOX 360?

Are Microsoft bloggers pushing propaganda about the XBOX 360?
Or is it just a coordinated effort to battle internet rumors?

In my continuing quest for an XBOX 360, I have been keeping up with forums and blogs on the subject. A couple that I frequent happen to be from MSFT employees who were part of the XBOX 360 team.

I always felt like these were great sources of info because they helped make the console. And because it is a blog, it felt more credible for some reason than a press release.

For example, Major Nelson's "Who is Major Nelson?" page reads:
"I work at Microsoft under the title of “Xbox Live Director of Programming” in the Xbox Live product group and use this blog as a method to communicate to anyone interested in Xbox and Xbox Live. It’s important to note that what I say on this blog (including any podcasts) is my personal opinion and is not read or approved by anyone before it is posted."

And John Porcaro's blog reads:
"Even though I work in marketing for Microsoft, not everything accurately reflects the views of my employer, my management, my co-workers, or is even true. So, little I say here is 'Microsoft policy'."

Well, today, my confidence was shaken by the striking similarities of two different posts from two different Microsoft employee bloggers. Is MSFT feeding them things to say about XBOX 360 shortages and recalls? Looks like they are cutting and pasting from the same memo and then adding a little color of their own. Even the structure of the blog post is almost identical.

Here are some excerpts that seem too similar to be coincidental:

Excerpt #1
"Replenishment: There are a couple reports of retailers saying they won't have units for weeks or months (or worse.) Generally speaking, this is not true. We are shipping units constantly." -- Major Nelson

"Replenishment Units Are On The Ground: Also, there are reports of some retailers saying they won’t have units for weeks or months. Also not true (in most cases)... We are shipping units constantly (we have chartered 747's regularly flying in with units)." -- John Porcaro

Excerpt #2 (Word-for-word)
"Some retailers have a backorder wait list, and might not have units that will be on shelf for some time, and some retailers might allocate more units to one store over another, but all stores that have placed orders are getting replenishments regularly." -- Major Nelson

"Some retailers have a backorder wait list, and might not have units that will be on shelf for some time, and some retailers might allocate more units to one store over another, but all stores that have placed orders are getting replenishments regularly. " -- John Porcaro

There are several other examples, so take a look at their posts and decide for yourself:

Major Nelson's post

John Porcaro's post

I wouldn't put this tactic past MSFT (and other companies like Macromedia have tried to use blogs to push their agenda); however, considering how far MSFT needs to knock the ball out of the park to catch up to Sony, there is a lot more at stake for jerking people around. I hope that's not the case. And, of course, this information could actually be true; however, when I see the exact same quotes in a personal blog, it tends to make me suspicious of the information. Am I just paranoid?