Amanda Sherman
as480920@ohio.edu
Source: Scienceupfirst
What is it?
According to Wikipedia, astroturfing is a way to mask the sponsors of a message or organization. The aim is to have the message seem like it is naturally occurring (grass root), instead of from a paid corporation. These include PR, Religious affiliates, advertising, or politics. The hope is that it will drum up more buzz about the topic at hand, which may not have otherwise.
How is it done?
Astroturfing has been done for decades. In more recent years, it is tv commercials, internet, and now social media outlets. An example is a new account on Facebook that shares multiple posts on one subject like a political candidate.
It is getting worse! According to the Guardian, companies are using software that can create a whole persona for a fake account. This includes names, emails, web pages and even social media. Essentially, in a snap you can have a whole virtual robot setup. These accounts will then run themselves with automatic updates and reposting's. There are multiple ways to keep these accounts live and updated.
According to Wikipedia, astroturfing is a way to mask the sponsors of a message or organization. The aim is to have the message seem like it is naturally occurring (grass root), instead of from a paid corporation. These include PR, Religious affiliates, advertising, or politics. The hope is that it will drum up more buzz about the topic at hand, which may not have otherwise.
How is it done?
Astroturfing has been done for decades. In more recent years, it is tv commercials, internet, and now social media outlets. An example is a new account on Facebook that shares multiple posts on one subject like a political candidate.
It is getting worse! According to the Guardian, companies are using software that can create a whole persona for a fake account. This includes names, emails, web pages and even social media. Essentially, in a snap you can have a whole virtual robot setup. These accounts will then run themselves with automatic updates and reposting's. There are multiple ways to keep these accounts live and updated.
Source: Samantha O'Connell
Why is it bad?
It is a deliberate attempt to manipulate the public. Now, with social media it can be much worse. We have seen this over the last few years with COVID and the 2020 election. The chaos astroturfing can cause will only get worse.
We as people already have a tendency to like and share what we have interest in. An article on social media research has claims that social media users attention spans are low, and that illusion becomes reality when there is fake posts because we tend to like popular things as a result of social proof.
Source: Jake Wallace
There is nothing we can do to stop Astroturfer's from trying to share things, but there are many things we can do to not fall for the trap. According to Rockhurst University:
- Check your own biases.
- Check the sources.
- Know the difference between satire, opinion, propaganda, and other news.
- Verify with other stories.
- FACT CHECK.
- What is the angle? Political, environmental, PR affiliates?
- Is the site you are on overrun with ads?
- Are most of the responses on the post short? "Thats excellent." "Brilliant." "Yes!" Most people who comment will share an actual opinion.
- Is the information current?
Amanda, this post is a great reminder of just how pervasive 'Astroturfing' has become. Like so many other nefarious trends, bot-infused social-media is giving new life to things like astroturfing.
ReplyDeleteI hesitantly admit I am a 40-something woman who enjoys TikTok (the dog videos are what do it for me :) But, I get so angry when I see an ad disguised as a TikTok. For example, it will be recorded just like a normal iphone video of someone "in love" with their new product. The only way to tell it's an ad is the teeny little "sponsored" badge down in the corner. Very deceptive.
ReplyDelete