Claire Bowman
cb487521@ohio.edu
What is Astroturfing
I have this really great public relations campaign but I don't think I will get many viewers in just a picture of a can of Diet Coke what do I do? Ok, I got it! Let's have the famous singer Taylor Swift pose with Diet Coke talk about how much she likes drinking Diet Coke. People like Taylor Swift and if she can pose like she enjoys drinking Diet Coke we can get so many more sales. So let's pay Taylor Swift to create false images.
Like the image below and that is what Astroturfing is. According to Merriam Webster dictionary, the definition for Astroturfing is "Organized activity that is intended to create a false impression of a widespread, spontaneously arising, grassroots movement in support of or in opposition to something (such as a political policy) but that is in reality initiated and controlled by a concealed group or organization (such as a corporation)." This is happening way more than just one picture it's unfortunate how many companies have done so well.
Picture source: Pro Profs Quizzes
What is wrong with it?
Besides the obvious fact that astroturfing is extremely weird having celebrities like the one above is very deceiving. It almost feels like astroturfing is just going around a big circle like the person who is working with finding a cure for lung cancer is also the one who is working with Marlboro cigarette companies. Similar to the example above in the John Oliver variety show he talks about how the person advocating for fire retardant beds and works for the Citizens For Fire Safety claimed that three babies have died with a candle tipping over and burning the child 75-80% and later passing aware. We later find out on the John Oliver show that no child did burn from a candle and that the person in the hospital was under oath. Similar reasons of what is wrong with astroturfing are this link The Problem with Astroturfing in this link the author talks about how she felt astroturfing was like the movie Inception when you know about the lies you have a hard time seeing the truth in it.
How is it used in modern time
Again we know now that nobody in astroturfing really likes the product, but what they do like is money, and with social media being as popular as it is today and technology growing rapidly astroturfing is getting a lot more common and will only get worse unless we can raise awareness of this false information. A few better examples of exactly how astroturfing is being used is in the link What is Astroturfing, and why your business should avoid it
Conclusion
Prior to this week, I had no idea what astroturfing was, and whenever I went on Tik Tok or Instagram and found celebrities posing as if they work for a new company I never thought twice about it however I know now that companies should avoid it because it looks bad on there business and its typically just lies anyway. With that being said when I go on social media the next time and see Kylie Jenner posed with a new type of clear skin lotion I will know the truth that she is really just getting paid and she is just a good actor.
Hey, Claire!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I had not heard of astroturfing before the beginning of this week. I was shocked when I realized how common it is for companies to pay celebrities to promote their products. Tik Tok now has hashtags that show you if the celebrity is a sponsor or if they Tik Tok video is an ad. This has really brought to light how many celebrities are wiling to promote products for money. I have known a few influencers to make publicly apologies for promoting products they did not truly like or even try. I appreciate their transparency and hope celebrities will follow their example.
og198415@ohio.edu