In politics and advertising, the term astroturfing describes public relations (PR) campaigns that seek to create the impression of being a spontaneous. Hence the reference to the "AstroTurf" (artificial grass) is a metaphor to indicate "fake grassroots" support.
The goal of such a campaign is to disguise the a client as an independent public reaction to some political entity—a politician, political group, product, service, event. Astroturfers attempt to orchestrate the actions of apparently diverse and geographically distributed individuals, by both overt ("outreach," "awareness," etc.) and covert (disinformation) means. Astroturfing may be undertaken by anything from an individual pushing their own personal agenda through to highly organised professional groups with financial backing from large corporations.
The goal of such a campaign is to disguise the a client as an independent public reaction to some political entity—a politician, political group, product, service, event. Astroturfers attempt to orchestrate the actions of apparently diverse and geographically distributed individuals, by both overt ("outreach," "awareness," etc.) and covert (disinformation) means. Astroturfing may be undertaken by anything from an individual pushing their own personal agenda through to highly organised professional groups with financial backing from large corporations.
Techniques
A form of propaganda, astroturfing attempts to selectively affect the emotions of the public, whether trying to win a campaign, be the top music record seller, the top book seller, or gain political support.
Astroturfing techniques usually consist of a few people discreetly posing as mass numbers of activists advocating a specific cause. Supporters or employees will manipulate the interest through letters to the editor, e-mails, blog posts, crossposts, trackbacks, etc. They are instructed on what to say, how to say it, where to send it, and how to make it appear that their indignation, appreciation, joy, or hate is entirely spontaneous and independent. This makes their campaign seem "real" rather than the product of an orchestrated campaign. Local newspapers are often victims of astroturfing when they publish letters identical to those received and printed by other newspapers.
It has become easier to structure an astroturfing campaign in the electronic era because the cost and effort to send an e-mail (especially a pre-written, sign-your-name-at-the-bottom e-mail) is so low. Companies may use a boiler room full of telephones and computers where hired activists locate people and groups that create enthusiasm for the specified cause. Also, the use of psychographics allows hired supporters to persuade their targeted audience. This correlates with the merge-purge technique that combines information about an individual from multiple databases. Companies can then turn hypothetical supporters into activists for the cause. This leads to misuse of the Internet, for one person is able to play the role of a whole group of like-minded people (see also Internet sockpuppet).
News consolidation services, such as Google News, as well as PR Watch and Sourcewatch, have made it easier to spot such campaigns through the search of specific key phrases that bring up results showing identical letters, articles, blogs, websites, etc.
At the turn of the 20th century, it was common to have newspapers in major American cities sponsored by local political parties. Some were open about this practice, but many of these relationships were hidden. Other examples include political "clubs" which front for voter fraud and intimidation, letter-writing campaigns organized by local ward bosses, and some union-organized political activities.
In one case, documented in the book All the President's Men, the Committee to Re-Elect the President orchestrated several campaigns of "public support" for decisions made by President Nixon in the period preceding the 1972 election, including telegrams to the White House and an apparently independent advertisement placed in The New York Times.
Manipulation of public opinion was also used in the Soviet Union. Political decisions were often preceded by massive campaigns of orchestrated 'letters from workers' (письма трудящихся, (pisma trudyashchikhsya)) which were quoted and published in newspapers and radio.[citation needed] In Stalin's era, massive "public demonstrations" were organized against "the enemies of the people"; those attending were often forced or intimidated into doing so.
Recent examples
In the 2005 general election in the United Kingdom, the Labour Party packed press conferences with party workers who appeared as genuine, concerned members of the public. The Labour Party, The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democratic Party workers also sent letters to the local press purporting to be ordinary members of the public; all of the letters fit a common template covering specific party issues.[citation needed] Aside from deceiving the readership, such tactics also deny space to genuine local residents. (New Labour's use of astroturf tactics was exposed by a UK Channel Four team with the use of an undercover reporter, shown in May 2005 - see below.)
Wake Up Wal-Mart is an organization that claims to be "grass roots" but is funded and run by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. The group's website pages are clearly marked as copyrighted by the UFCW Union, but public statements emphasize instead its "grassroots" nature.
Wal-Mart Watch was originally funded by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).[4] According to the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart Watch is mainly funded by Five Stones, a 501(c)(3) organization that received $2,775,000 in 2005 from the SEIU.[5][6] The Wal-Mart Watch "About" page clearly discloses connection with Five Stones, the name and SEIU affiliation of its President Andy Stern, and the names and affiliations of other board members. The SEIU reportedly gave Five Stones $1 million in 2004 to start Wal-Mart Watch.
One recent project of Working Families for Wal-Mart is its website PaidCritics.com, devoted to exposing the astroturf origins of such Wal-Mart critics as Wake Up Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart Watch. In a nice touch of irony, Business Week recently disclosed that despite its own grass-roots imagery, "Working Families for Wal-Mart" was created, run, and paid for by Wal-Mart's PR firm Edelman. [5] [6] The "About" page of Working Families for Wal-Mart does not reveal the group's connection to Wal-Mart; the group's mission is said to include "fostering open and honest dialogue".
In October 2006, Nestlé, the manufacturer of "Nesquik" powdered milk flavoring, sponsored the "Lactose Tolerance" campaign, where activists tried in the manner of Greenpeace and Children International to solicit public support for flavored milks as equal to regular milk.
