Astroturfing, Deepening The Divide

Bobby Urse

bobbyurse2@gmail.com

According to the article, What is Astroturfing on Bustle.com astroturfing is defined as an, "attempt to create an impression of widespread grassroots support for a policy, individual, or product, where little such support exists. Multiple online identities and fake pressure groups are used to mislead the public into believing that the position of the astroturfer is the commonly held view." This fact that these widespread grassroots ideas are actually artificially created, is how the term "Astroturfing" came to fruition.

Graphic by bestresponsemedia.com.uk

These campaigns that are initiated or controlled by a concealed group or organization is a new type of "fake news" that is hard to discern from an authentic movement. They not only spread the false impression of real public perception but promote biased and unfounded narratives for political or monetary gain. 

The immediate dangers of astroturfing were apparent during the Covid-19 epidemic as privately backed protests pushed misinformation while even potentially transmitting the virus further. According to spectrumlocalnews.com a rally in the Texas capitol of Austin saw hundreds of people calling for the lifting of Covid-19 related restrictions. The protest was technically a product of astroturfing as it was later revealed to be initiated by Infowars host Alex Jones. 

Artificial protests like this not only give the wrong impression as to how real people feel about current issues but any mass gathering during a global pandemic is irresponsible from a public health perspective. Individuals or corporations on any political side should be held responsible for this type of action as it is not only tactless in the current health environment we are experiencing but knowingly inflates tensions by spreading a fake narrative. 

 

Political astroturfing can make polarization between the two parties worse by conflating real public perceptions with privately backed ones. Doing all that while also spreading a virus? Two strikes in my book. But are political organizations the only one knowingly participating in the use of astroturfing and furthering the spread of misinformation? Unfortunately not. 

Businesses of course also use forms of astroturfing to push their own agendas. Whether it be to shift public perception or to increase monetary gains. The New York Times article The Best Book Reviews Money Can Buy, estimates that about 1/3 of all online reviews are fake.

These practices only hurt consumers by propping up dishonest products with inflated reviews. 

Astroturfing clearly directly impacts people both through the politics they hear and the products they are recommended. Practices like this are frowned upon but still very hard to catch, with the real intent behind being exposed days or weeks after, if ever at all. More skepticism is required by citizens but is not enough as there must be some federal regulation to increase transparency in these cases.