Astroturfing: Looks can be Deceiving

Claudia Bauman

clbauman2@gmail.com

 

Every day we as a population are mass consumers of propaganda whether we realize it or not. In today’s society it’s becoming harder and harder to know which groups and companies we can trust and which we can’t. The sad truth of it all is that many have alternative motives they keep hidden from the public to appear one way instead of another, otherwise known as astroturfing. From the media we see to the food we consume; it is all around us and becoming a huge issue.

You would think that our national health organizations that provide us with the most up-to-date food information are unbiased, but they too are being influenced. Many think these organizations are government funded but in actuality they have sponsors. Would you trust information about diabetes if they were receiving money from instant mac-n-cheese companies? No? Neither would I. The American Diabetes Association is sponsored by non-other than Kraft.

One of the biggest culprits of this is the American Heart Association who is sponsored by Nestle, Dominos Pizza, Tyson, Kraft along with many other brands that own fast food companies and other unhealthy foods. These associations would never dare say something that would discourage people from consuming food from its sponsors thus skewing the information they release. These fake grass roots organizations should be completely unbiased but in fact they are being poisoned by who pays their paycheck.

 

 Picture source: What the Health Film

This is also why we are now seeing an increase in Cheeseburger Laws especially here in the United States. These are laws specifically designed to protect these food industries from being sued by their consumers. Their defense is that they didn’t force anyone to eat what they sell, but again the consumer was being misled without any repercussions. This law decreases the amount of PR conflicts since there's nothing the consumer can do.

There are many foods that use mislead packaging and advertisements that lead the public into thinking they are consuming something healthy but aren’t as healthy as one may think. Take Honey Nut Cheerios for instance, on their box they say “Can help lower cholesterol” with an asterisk. Many don’t take the time to read the asterisk notes but what they say is:“3 grams of soluble fiber daily from whole grain oat foods, like Honey Nut Cheerios cereal, in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. Honey Nut Cheerios cereal provides .75 grams per serving.”

Picture source: Honey Nut Cheerios

These buzz words of “Can” and “May” means that it may in fact do nothing at all. Honey Nut Cheerios have since been warned by the FDA but since they don’t claim that it does in fact lower cholesterol, they have been able to get away with it. This is a loop hole many companies use to avoid PR conflicts of interest while these PR professionals really should be upfront with their consumers in the first place.

It is always important to do your research on who is publishing the content you are consuming especially when it affects your personal health. Public relation teams work hard to keep the peace but its not always in the consumers favor. Its time to end astroturfing and be stricter with getting these corporations and associations to own up to their influencers.