Astroturfing: An Orchestrated Movement

Tracie Wall

tw041219@ohio.edu

Grassroots movements are powerful, they are a natural, independent effort to force change. Think the United Farm Workers Movement that started in 1962, that fought to protect the rights of laborers and migrant workers employed in agriculture - or even The Temperance Movement in the early 1800s-1933, an effort to make the production and consumption of alcohol illegal. In both examples provided by Street Civics, the efforts of these activists were wildly successful.

What is Astroturfing?

Companies have been trying to harness the power of a grassroots movement to work in their favor. U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen was the first to go on record, coining the name 'astroturfing'. An act defined by Merriam-Webster to mean, An 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). 

Picture source: ChangeMeme

Why is astroturfing used?

Examples of astroturfing can be anything from company paid bloggers writing product reviews pretending to be unbiased, to advertisements appearing to be from private websites or public-interest groups, redirecting to corporate written pages. According to Big Commerce, astroturfing hides the financial and business associates between the originating company and they message, potentially making corporate messaging more palatable to a public that might reject outspoken propaganda.

What are the latest astroturfing trends?

As reported by the Guardian, some big companies now use sophisticated "persona management software" to create droves of virtual astroturfers, complete with a fake IP address, non-political interests, and online histories. These profiles look authentic and are fabricated months or years before they are being put into use for campaigns - corporate or political.

Alarming isn't a strong enough word

This software is becoming more and more intelligent, getting better at looking and feeling real. With access to computers and someone to operate them, large masses of supporters, protesters, and the like can appear out of thin air. Distorting reality.

The Consequences

In the United States and the E.U. laws surround astroturfing, which include promoters of a product must disclose the financial relationship with that company, that also includes bloggers and social media influencers. 

Astroturfing is a fairly common practice, and Big Commerce states that in estimated third of all online reviews are falsified. If it is uncovered that a company is participating in astroturfing, they can be fined and their credibility ruined.