Astroturfing..more like cyber stalking

Paige Zsebik
pz862718@ohio.edu

https://easyhealthoptions.com/internet-trolls-mental-disorder 

Before jumping into this week's lesson,  I unfortunately have to admit the term astroturfing was completely unknown to me. But what I have learned now from this lesson is that astroturfing is something Americans should ALL know about.

   How many times has someone on Facebook got into a political commenting warfare with a complete stranger? Maybe you did not get into that fight yourself, but the thread of 23 + comments popped up on your timeline from a mutual friend. Yeah, quite a few of us.

    Astroturfing can be textbook defined as, "the attempt to create an impression of widespread grassroots support for a policy, individual, or product, where little such support exists". The Guardian. Realistically, I would define it as companies hiring individuals or a group of such to stalk through websites, blogs, social media, and other sites to advocate for their companies, even if they are in the wrong, in order to make their company seem supported by the majority.

  Uh? Creepy? People are getting paid to create multiple online identities and post content for the company who hired them. These fake identities go as far as having a sort of fake history come up so the person looks real and active for a standing period of time.

  So where do our Journalism Code of Ethics come in? Where is the truth behind these fake people posting fake opinions, and getting away with it? Each week, I have tried to incorporate at least one prior lesson or topic to my current week's blogs, and this one could cover a multitude.

  I just do not like the vibe I get from this whole astroturfing thing. Being the age I am, and the tech savviness that I hold, and NOT ever have heard this term makes me concerned for the rest of the population. Who else had no idea this existed?

  Can astroturfers have some way of being discovered by the public? I now want to question every political, argumentative post I see. Anyone else?

  What is also interesting is that astroturfing can go a few different ways. There can be entire sites that seem to be supporting a cause, and then there can be posers online who seem to be advocating for a company. I guess what I do not like is not only is astroturfing something that exists, but it definitely is not truthful. It breaks so many parts of our Codes of Ethics. For example, editorial integrity is a value of the Online News Association, and reads, "The unique permeability of digital publications allows for the linking and joining of information resources of all kinds as intimately as if they were published by a single organization. Responsible journalism through this medium means that the distinction between news and other information must always be clear, so that individuals can readily distinguish independent editorial information from paid promotional information and other non-news". The ONA. The point behind astroturfing in my opinion, is for companies to be secretive about the public "support" they are gaining. I think that whole idea goes right against what our Online News Association has to say.

   Someone out there had to coin the term astroturfing, how did they discover it? Then again, the Code of Ethics has its own problem with the lack of enforcement it can have. So I guess astroturfing could fall under that same category.

  Being a journalist is something that has become far more complex and filled of questions than I ever saw coming.