Astroturfing on the Internet

Joe Bartolotta
jb177314@ohio.edu

The internet has offered our society countless advantages that can enrich our everyday lives. It gives everyday people the ability to have their voices heard and make positive societal impacts. The online environment promotes a very democratic space for people to engage with one another in a very autonomous way. Since the internet’s inception, we have seen innumerable amounts of change unparalleled by any other point in human history. However, the implications of this free space can also be easily taken advantage of by unethical corporations and even the government.

Due to the internet’s anonymity, low accountability, and low regulation, it is easy for corporations and government institutions to pose as common people of the general public to endorse and promote their particular agendas. Corporations oftentimes target ordinary people to endorse their products online without publicly disclosing their incentives. This is a major threat to the democratic nature of the internet. Whether it be simply gifting products to users to help advertise a company’s products, or a company creating phony online accounts, it is an unethical practice to artificially skew the opinion of the general public. In a time where influencers on social media cast such a prominent impact on the public’s opinion, it is important to recognize the potential threats that could arise as large institutions begin utilizing the internet for their personal benefit.

These unethical practices should be considered a form of astroturfing, where multiple online identities are used to mislead the public. Astroturfing: what is it and why does it matter? When little support exists for a particular policy, product, or individual, organizations have the ability to artificially create a grassroots buzz that is seemingly authentic, which is a highly unethical practice. We have been seeing this more and more on the internet as astroturf lobbyists are able to go more easily unnoticed on the internet without accountability or fear of detection.

Companies are now implementing persona management software.This kind of software helps multiply the efforts of astroturfers by creating authentic-looking fake accounts that are automatically updated with changing IP addresses. This is a serious threat to the general public, especially online. With this highly-sophisticated software, organizations are able to employ widespread astroturf operations with ease. These types of practices have the potential to ruin the internet as a free, democratic space for individuals, which is going to be a major problem as the internet continues to grow.

Considering that even US Air Force has expressed interest in this persona management software, the baseline code for ethics regarding this matter is highly controversial. If other government entities begin following this trend and utilizing this type of software, the residual effects on the online environment could be drastic. Couple that with large corporations reaping the benefits of this persona management software as well, and the internet as we know it could turn into something far different than an open medium for discussion. Undisclosed private influence from these types of large organizations is certainly an unethical use of the internet.

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