Questioning the Ethics of Astroturfing

Lilah Gagne 

Lmgagne1123@gmail.com

Astro what? 

Astroturfing is the attempt to create an impression of widespread grassroots support of a policy, individual, or product. This illusion is created by masking the sponsors of a message or a political, religious, or public relations organization to make it appear as though the message being broadcasted originated from and is supported by grassroots participants where in truth, little support exists. 

Astroturfing can be easily accomplished by the use of “sockpuppets,” fake personas or identities which can be manipulated to appear as if they have an opinion about something. One example of this could be in the form of false reviews. 

Image taken from The Hustle. 

How is astroturfing used? 

·       Astroturfing is used to make it appear as if a politician or public issue has widespread support. 

·      Astroturfing is used to make a product appear as if it is more effective and successful than it actually is. 

·      Astroturfing is used to make it seem like many people dislike a business or product.

·      Astroturfing is used to make it look like many people dislike a public policy.

 

Common examples of astroturfing 

Advertisements appearing to be from private websites or public interest groups redirecting to corporate-wide pages. 

·      Company-employed bloggers posting product reviews.

·      Paid social media accounts or influencers focusing on specific brands and products. 

·     Creating multiple fake accounts or identities on popular social media and messaging sites that are all posting similar content creating an illusion that something is popular. 

·     Posing as consumers to spread negative messages about another business or product. 

 

Why should my company avoid using astroturfing for public outreach? 

Astroturfing is considered unethical because it has the potential to mislead mass audiences through the creation of false personas or paid advertising.

Astroturfing has the potential to damage a company’s credibility as well as its reputation if it is caught astroturfing.

Companies should disclose paid advertisements or false grassroots support to their consumers.