What is Astroturfing?
According to Wikipedia "AstroTurf is an American subsidiary that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports," and while this is what you typically think of when you think of astroturf in recent years astroturfing has gained a new, more malicious meaning in on the internet.
According to Wikipedia "Astroturfing is the practice of masking the sponsors of a message or organization (e.g., political, advertising, religious or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by grassroots participants." The term astroturfing is derived from the a fore mentioned AstroTurf, with the grassroot members being the real members and the astroturfers being the fake ones.
Some examples include:
- Fake followers on social media.
- Fake comments or reviews for a product.
- Fake campaigns opposing certain parties.
How Advanced is Astroturfing?
According to The Gaurdian, The Daily Kos has reported emails that show:
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- Companies now use "persona management software", which multiplies the efforts of each astroturfer, creating the impression that there's major support for what a corporation or government is trying to do.
- This software creates all the online furniture a real person would possess: a name, email accounts, web pages and social media. In other words, it automatically generates what look like authentic profiles, making it hard to tell the difference between a virtual robot and a real commentator.
- Fake accounts can be kept updated by automatically reposting or linking to content generated elsewhere, reinforcing the impression that the account holders are real and active.
- Human astroturfers can then be assigned these "pre-aged" accounts to create a back story, suggesting that they've been busy linking and retweeting for months. No one would suspect that they came onto the scene for the first time a moment ago, for the sole purpose of attacking an article on climate science or arguing against new controls on salt in junk food.
- With some clever use of social media, astroturfers can, in the security firm's words, "make it appear as if a persona was actually at a conference and introduce himself/herself to key individuals as part of the exercise … There are a variety of social media tricks we can use to add a level of realness to fictitious personas."
This makes it difficult to differentiate between real users and fake ones. Add in the use of VPNs, software that modifies the IP or identifier of your device while online, and it is near impossible for even the websites themselves to keep astroturfers at bay.
What is the Purpose of Astroturfing?
"In political science, it (astroturfing) is defined as the process of seeking electoral victory or legislative relief for grievances by helping political actors find and mobilize a sympathetic public, and is designed to create the image of public consensus where there is none."Wikipedia
It deceives people into believing that something is the popular opinion. It can be used to convince people into buying a certain product or voting a certain way.
Conclusion?
Astroturfing is a dishonest practice the preys upon the trust of those influenced by it.
Thank You.
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