http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/09/02/heres-samsung-flew-bloggers-halfway-around-world-threatened-leave/.

Basically, two tech bloggers from India signed up to an insider program with Samsung (fairly common with tech companies), who then offered to fly them to the IFA, a major tradeshow in Berlin covering Europe and Asia. The bloggers made it very clear that they would only accept if they were there as reporters, not promoters, and Samsung said sure. However, when they got there, Samsung handed them uniforms, told them to go stand in the booth and demo their products, or they could forget about their plane tickets home. Fortunately, Nokia saved the day by https://twitter.com/clintonjeff/status/242358009249026049

EDIT: It seems it's not the first time they've done this, a http://int13.net/france/blog/i-won-a-contest-to-go-to-the-london-olympic-games/ had a similar experience with a major Korean maker of smartphones who they can't name due to an NDA, kind of like the one Samsung wanted the two Indians to sign.

Wow

Good thing Nokia was nice though! I haven't really followed Nokia lately, but a few years ago when I was "active" in the mobile scene, they were easily the most generous company I knew, and often giving them invitations and plane tickets to various events that they blogged and reported about. Shame their mobile phones started to drop in quality, evem if I still use a 3 year old Nokia as my main phone

Good ol' Nokia. Proves how nice Finns can be.

But Samsung using that tactic is despicable, I can't believe they tried to do that.