Astroturfing
Encyclopedia
Astroturfing is a form of advocacy
in support of a political
, organizational, or corporate agenda, designed to give the appearance of a "grassroots
" movement. The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political and/or
commercial entity
as an independent public reaction to some political entity—a politician, political group, product, service or event. The term is a derivation of AstroTurf
, a brand of synthetic carpeting designed to look like natural grass.
Astroturfers attempt to manipulate public opinion by both overt ("outreach", "awareness", etc.) and covert (disinformation
) means. Astroturfing may be undertaken by an individual promoting a personal agenda, or highly organized professional groups with money from large corporation
s, union
s, non-profit
s, or activist organizations. Very often, the efforts are conducted by political consultants who also specialize in opposition research
. Beneficiaries are not "grass root" campaigners but distant organizations that orchestrate such campaigns.
Lloyd Bentsen
of Texas in 1985. It is wordplay based on grassroots democracy
efforts—truly spontaneous undertakings largely sustained by private persons—as opposed to politicians, governments, corporations, or public-relations firms. AstroTurf
refers to the bright green artificial grass
used in some sports stadiums, so "astroturfing" refers to imitating or faking popular grassroots opinion or behavior.
This practice is specifically prohibited by the code of ethics of the Public Relations Society of America
(PRSA), the Public Relations Institute of Australia
(PRIA) and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
(CIPR), the national associations for members of the public-relations and communication profession in the United States
, Australia
and the UK
respectively. As private organizations, the most significant punishment the PRSA, PRIA and CIPR can hand out to members who engage in astroturfing is revocation of association membership. Although the International Association of Business Communicators
(IABC) does not specifically mention astroturfing, it does require honest communication.
whose techniques usually consist of a few people attempting to give the impression that mass numbers of enthusiasts advocate some specific cause. In the UK this technique is better known as "rent-a-crowd" after the successful "rent-a-crate" business.
US Senator Lloyd Bentsen
, believed to have coined the term, was quoted by the Washington Post in 1985 using it to describe a "mountain of cards and letters" sent to his Senate office to promote insurance industry interests, which Bentsen dismissed as "generated mail."
The National Smokers Alliance
, an early astroturf group created by Burson-Marsteller
on behalf of tobacco giant Philip Morris
, worked to influence Federal legislation in 1995 by organizing mailings and running a phone-bank urging people to call or write to politicians expressing their opposition to laws aimed at discouraging teens from starting to smoke.
In 1998, a combination of television ads and phone-banks were used to simulate "grassroots" opposition to a bill aimed at discouraging teenage smoking. According to The New York Times
, "Those smokers who are reached by phone banks sponsored by cigarette makers, or who call the 800 number shown in television ads, are patched through to the senator of their choice."
In 2003, apparent "grass-roots" letters favouring Republican Party
policies appearing in local newspapers around the US were denounced as "astroturf" when Google
searches revealed that identical letters were printed with different (local) signatures. The signers were electronically submitting pre-written letters from a political website that offered five "GOPoints" for sending one of their letters to a local paper plus an additional two "GOPoints" if the letter was published. A similar automated emailer employed by MoveOn.org in 2004 to support Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11
film resulted in at least 22 form letters appearing in local papers.
Black propaganda
is information that purports to be from a source on one side of a conflict, but is actually from the opposing side. Most astroturfing is black propaganda in that the identity of the source is falsified. However, the ostensible source of the evidence planted is usually not a grassroots organization. When black propaganda uses the same means as astroturfing, the distinction is less clear, as in the case of forged letters being sent to congressman Tom Perriello
by a Washington lobbying firm working against 2009 clean energy legislation.
Journalist Ben Smith
of The Politico
has observed, "Interest groups across the spectrum have grown expert at locating, enraging and turning out authentic Americans. And the operatives behind the crowds say there's nothing wrong with a practice as old as American politics." Regarding the 2009 health care debate, author and blogger Ryan Sager has argued in a New York Times editorial
: "Organizing isn't cheating. Doing everything in your power to get your people to show up is basic politics."
In business, astroturfing is one form of stealth marketing, which can include the manipulation of viral marketing
. Several examples are described as "undercover marketing
" in the documentary The Corporation.
The term "astroturfing" is also used to describe public relations activities aimed at "falsely creating the impression of independent, popular support by means of an orchestrated and disguised public relations exercise....designed to give the impression of spontaneous support for an idea/product/company/service," according to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
(CIPR) Social Media Guidelines, which cautions members that an astroturfing campaign is "self-evidently likely to contradict the CIPR Code."
It has become easier to structure a commercial 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 who create enthusiasm for the specified cause. Also, the use of psychographic
s allows hired supporters to persuade their targeted audience
.
For several years, the People's Republic of China
has employed paid "astroturfing bloggers", known as "red vests", "red vanguard", or the "50 Cent Party
", the last being a reference to the ¥0.5
they are paid for each supportive post. (Cf. Amazon Mechanical Turk
.)
, Georgia Pacific, the Chemical Manufacturers Association, General Electric
, American Forest & Paper Association
, Chevron
, Union Carbide
, Procter & Gamble
, American Chemical Society
, American Plastics Council
, Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association, WMX Technologies, Browning Ferris Industries and the Nuclear Energy Institute
.
was an astroturfing group funded by the tobacco industry to oppose regulation of tobacco products.
President Richard M. Nixon had White House staffers write "letters to the editor" to various American newspapers, purporting to be from ordinary citizens who favored Nixon's policies. Among others, future Presidential candidate and pundit Pat Buchanan
contributed to the effort.
Examples include:
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
in support of a political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, organizational, or corporate agenda, designed to give the appearance of a "grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
" movement. The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political and/or
And/or
And/or is a phrase used to indicate that one or more of the stated cases may occur. For example, the sentence "He will eat cake, pie, and/or brownies" indicates that although the person may eat any of the three listed desserts, the choices are not exclusive; the person may eat one, two, or all...
commercial entity
Legal personality
Legal personality is the characteristic of a non-human entity regarded by law to have the status of a person....
as an independent public reaction to some political entity—a politician, political group, product, service or event. The term is a derivation of AstroTurf
AstroTurf
AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...
, a brand of synthetic carpeting designed to look like natural grass.
Astroturfers attempt to manipulate public opinion by both overt ("outreach", "awareness", etc.) and covert (disinformation
Disinformation
Disinformation is intentionally false or inaccurate information that is spread deliberately. For this reason, it is synonymous with and sometimes called black propaganda. It is an act of deception and false statements to convince someone of untruth...
) means. Astroturfing may be undertaken by an individual promoting a personal agenda, or highly organized professional groups with money from large corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
s, union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s, non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
s, or activist organizations. Very often, the efforts are conducted by political consultants who also specialize in opposition research
Opposition research
Opposition research is:# The term used to classify and describe efforts of supporters or paid consultants of a political candidate to legally investigate the biographical, legal or criminal, medical, educational, financial, public and private administrative and or voting records of the opposing...
. Beneficiaries are not "grass root" campaigners but distant organizations that orchestrate such campaigns.
Word origin
The term is said to have been used first in this context by former US SenatorUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr. was a four-term United States senator from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. In his later political life, he was Chairman of the Senate...
of Texas in 1985. It is wordplay based on grassroots democracy
Grassroots democracy
Grassroots democracy is a tendency towards designing political processes where as much decision-making authority as practical is shifted to the organization's lowest geographic level of organization: principle of subsidiarity....
efforts—truly spontaneous undertakings largely sustained by private persons—as opposed to politicians, governments, corporations, or public-relations firms. AstroTurf
AstroTurf
AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...
refers to the bright green artificial grass
Artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...
used in some sports stadiums, so "astroturfing" refers to imitating or faking popular grassroots opinion or behavior.
This practice is specifically prohibited by the code of ethics of the Public Relations Society of America
Public Relations Society of America
The ' , based in New York City, is the world's largest organization for public relations professionals. The organization has more than 21,000 members, including professionals from public relations agencies, corporations, government, health care institutions, military, professional services firms,...
(PRSA), the Public Relations Institute of Australia
Public Relations Institute of Australia
The Public Relations Institute of Australia is the representation body for public relations and communication professionals in Australia. It was founded in 1949 and promotes high ethical standards in the public relations and communication industry in Australia through accredited membership and...
(PRIA) and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
Chartered Institute of Public Relations
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations is the professional body for PR practitioners in the United Kingdom. Founded in February 1948 as the Institute of Public Relations, by 2009 it had grown to over 9000 members involved in all aspects of the public relations industry, and is the largest...
(CIPR), the national associations for members of the public-relations and communication profession in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
respectively. As private organizations, the most significant punishment the PRSA, PRIA and CIPR can hand out to members who engage in astroturfing is revocation of association membership. Although the International Association of Business Communicators
International Association of Business Communicators
The International Association of Business Communicators is a leading association for business communication professionals. IABC has approximately 16,000 members in more than 100 chapters in over 80 countries....
(IABC) does not specifically mention astroturfing, it does require honest communication.
Techniques
Astroturfing is a form of propagandaPropaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
whose techniques usually consist of a few people attempting to give the impression that mass numbers of enthusiasts advocate some specific cause. In the UK this technique is better known as "rent-a-crowd" after the successful "rent-a-crate" business.
US Senator Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr. was a four-term United States senator from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. In his later political life, he was Chairman of the Senate...
, believed to have coined the term, was quoted by the Washington Post in 1985 using it to describe a "mountain of cards and letters" sent to his Senate office to promote insurance industry interests, which Bentsen dismissed as "generated mail."
The National Smokers Alliance
National Smokers Alliance
The National Smoker's Alliance was a group formed in 1993 to protest U.S. anti-smoking legislation.The NSA was a public relations created front group funded by the tobacco industry, which operated nationally from 1994 to 1999 to advocate for adults using tobacco products without vigorous...
, an early astroturf group created by Burson-Marsteller
Burson-Marsteller
Burson-Marsteller is a global public relations and communications firm headquartered in the United States. Burson-Marsteller operates 67 wholly owned offices and 71 affiliate offices in 98 countries across six continents...
on behalf of tobacco giant Philip Morris
Philip Morris USA
Philip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. Philip Morris USA brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson and Hedges, Merit, Parliament, Alpine, Basic, Cambridge, Bucks, Dave's, Chesterfield, Collector's Choice, Commander, English Ovals, Lark, L&M, Players and...
, worked to influence Federal legislation in 1995 by organizing mailings and running a phone-bank urging people to call or write to politicians expressing their opposition to laws aimed at discouraging teens from starting to smoke.
In 1998, a combination of television ads and phone-banks were used to simulate "grassroots" opposition to a bill aimed at discouraging teenage smoking. According to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, "Those smokers who are reached by phone banks sponsored by cigarette makers, or who call the 800 number shown in television ads, are patched through to the senator of their choice."
In 2003, apparent "grass-roots" letters favouring Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
policies appearing in local newspapers around the US were denounced as "astroturf" when Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
searches revealed that identical letters were printed with different (local) signatures. The signers were electronically submitting pre-written letters from a political website that offered five "GOPoints" for sending one of their letters to a local paper plus an additional two "GOPoints" if the letter was published. A similar automated emailer employed by MoveOn.org in 2004 to support Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11 is a 2004 documentary film by American filmmaker and political commentator Michael Moore. The film takes a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and its coverage in the news media...
film resulted in at least 22 form letters appearing in local papers.
Black propaganda
Black propaganda
Black propaganda is false information and material that purports to be from a source on one side of a conflict, but is actually from the opposing side. It is typically used to vilify, embarrass or misrepresent the enemy...
is information that purports to be from a source on one side of a conflict, but is actually from the opposing side. Most astroturfing is black propaganda in that the identity of the source is falsified. However, the ostensible source of the evidence planted is usually not a grassroots organization. When black propaganda uses the same means as astroturfing, the distinction is less clear, as in the case of forged letters being sent to congressman Tom Perriello
Tom Perriello
Thomas Stuart Price "Tom" Perriello is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes much of Southside Virginia and stretches north to Charlottesville....
by a Washington lobbying firm working against 2009 clean energy legislation.
Journalist Ben Smith
Ben Smith (journalist)
Ben Smith is an American political journalist and blogger for the news outlet Politico, which was frequently cited during the 2008 presidential election. He formerly wrote for the Wall Street Journal Europe, the New York Sun, the New York Observer and wrote a political column for the New York Daily...
of The Politico
The Politico
The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency...
has observed, "Interest groups across the spectrum have grown expert at locating, enraging and turning out authentic Americans. And the operatives behind the crowds say there's nothing wrong with a practice as old as American politics." Regarding the 2009 health care debate, author and blogger Ryan Sager has argued in a New York Times editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
: "Organizing isn't cheating. Doing everything in your power to get your people to show up is basic politics."
In business, astroturfing is one form of stealth marketing, which can include the manipulation of viral marketing
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
. Several examples are described as "undercover marketing
Undercover marketing
Undercover marketing is a subset of guerrilla marketing where consumers do not realize they are being marketed to. For example, a marketing company might pay an actor or socially adept person to use a certain product visibly and convincingly in locations where target consumers congregate...
" in the documentary The Corporation.
The term "astroturfing" is also used to describe public relations activities aimed at "falsely creating the impression of independent, popular support by means of an orchestrated and disguised public relations exercise....designed to give the impression of spontaneous support for an idea/product/company/service," according to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
Chartered Institute of Public Relations
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations is the professional body for PR practitioners in the United Kingdom. Founded in February 1948 as the Institute of Public Relations, by 2009 it had grown to over 9000 members involved in all aspects of the public relations industry, and is the largest...
(CIPR) Social Media Guidelines, which cautions members that an astroturfing campaign is "self-evidently likely to contradict the CIPR Code."
It has become easier to structure a commercial 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
Boiler room (business)
In business, the term boiler room refers to a busy centre of activity, often selling questionable goods by telephone. It typically refers to a room where salesmen work using unfair, dishonest sales tactics, sometimes selling penny stock or committing outright stock fraud...
full of telephones and computers where hired activists locate people and groups who create enthusiasm for the specified cause. Also, the use of psychographic
Psychographic
In the fields of marketing, demographics, opinion research, and social research in general, psychographic variables are any attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles. They are also called IAO variables...
s allows hired supporters to persuade their targeted audience
Target audience
In marketing and advertising, a target audience, is a specific group of people within the target market at which the marketing message is aimed .....
.
For several years, the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
has employed paid "astroturfing bloggers", known as "red vests", "red vanguard", or the "50 Cent Party
50 Cent Party
The 50 Cent Party is a pejorative unofficial term for Internet commentators hired by the government of the People's Republic of China or the Communist Party to post comments favorable towards party policies in an attempt to shape and sway public opinion on various Internet message boards...
", the last being a reference to the ¥0.5
Renminbi
The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC...
they are paid for each supportive post. (Cf. Amazon Mechanical Turk
Amazon Mechanical Turk
The Amazon Mechanical Turk is a crowdsourcing Internet marketplace that enables computer programmers to co-ordinate the use of human intelligence to perform tasks that computers are unable to do yet. It is one of the suites of Amazon Web Services...
.)
Examples
Some firms and associations utilizing astroturfing include Philip MorrisPhilip Morris
- Philip/Phillip Morris :*Altria Group, conglomerate company previously known as Philip Morris Companies Inc., named after the 19th century tobacconist**Philip Morris USA, tobacco company wholly owned by Altria Group...
, Georgia Pacific, the Chemical Manufacturers Association, General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
, American Forest & Paper Association
American Forest & Paper Association
The American Forest & Paper Association is the national trade association of the forest products industry, representing manufacturers of approximately 80 percent of the U.S...
, Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
, Union Carbide
Union Carbide
Union Carbide Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. It currently employs more than 2,400 people. Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers. Some are high-volume...
, Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
, American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
, American Plastics Council
American Plastics Council
The American Plastics Council is a major trade association for the U.S. plastics industry. Through a variety of outreach efforts, APC works to promote the benefits of plastics and the plastics industry. APC comprises 22 of the leading resin manufacturers, plus one affiliated trade association...
, Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association, WMX Technologies, Browning Ferris Industries and the Nuclear Energy Institute
Nuclear Energy Institute
The Nuclear Energy Institute is a nuclear industry lobbying group in the United States.- Synopsis :According to its website, the NEI "develops policy on key legislative and regulatory issues affecting the industry. NEI then serves as a unified industry voice before the U.S...
.
Early examples
The National Smokers AllianceNational Smokers Alliance
The National Smoker's Alliance was a group formed in 1993 to protest U.S. anti-smoking legislation.The NSA was a public relations created front group funded by the tobacco industry, which operated nationally from 1994 to 1999 to advocate for adults using tobacco products without vigorous...
was an astroturfing group funded by the tobacco industry to oppose regulation of tobacco products.
President Richard M. Nixon had White House staffers write "letters to the editor" to various American newspapers, purporting to be from ordinary citizens who favored Nixon's policies. Among others, future Presidential candidate and pundit Pat Buchanan
Pat Buchanan
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Buchanan is an American paleoconservative political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician and broadcaster. Buchanan was a senior adviser to American Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN's Crossfire. He sought...
contributed to the effort.
Examples from the 1990s
- In the early 1990s, the federal American Stop Smoking Intervention Study (ASSIST) program used federal funding to create the appearance of concerned citizens groups lobbying for the levy and allocation of state tobacco taxes. The beneficiaries of this program were tax-exempt voluntary health associations (VHAs) such as the American Cancer SocietyAmerican Cancer SocietyThe American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
and American Heart AssociationAmerican Heart AssociationThe American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
who could not lobby for federal funding without violating tax laws, but who could lobby state governments. The plan was hatched in the wake of CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
's Proposition 99California Proposition 99 (1988)Proposition 99 is an initiative statute which appeared on the November 8th, 1988 California general election ballot, as the Tobacco Tax and Health Protection Act. It was passed by a majority vote of the electorate...
of 1988, where in-fighting over allocation of the revenues almost scuttled the proposition. The federal program, administered through the National Cancer InstituteNational Cancer InstituteThe National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
, including hiring the Advocacy Institute to teach the ASSIST and VHA staff to set up interlocking front organizations. These front organizations presented themselves as a groundswell of concerned citizens' groups, but were wholly staffed by employees of the federal offices and beneficiary VHAs. - In 1991 a memo from PR firm van KlobergEdward von Kloberg IIIEdward von Kloberg III was an American lobbyist, infamous for his representation of some of the most notorious dictators of the 20th century....
& Associates to ZairianZaireThe Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
ambassador Tatanene Tanata referring to the "Zaire Program 1991" was leaked. The memo outlines steps the firm was taking to improve the image of Mobutu Sese SekoMobutu Sese SekoMobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...
's regime, including placing dozens of letters to the editor, op-edOp-edAn op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
pieces, and articles in the American press praising the Zairian government. - The Clinton health care plan of 1993 failed due to heavy opposition from conservativesAmerican conservatismConservatism in the United States has played an important role in American politics since the 1950s. Historian Gregory Schneider identifies several constants in American conservatism: respect for tradition, support of republicanism, preservation of "the rule of law and the Christian religion", and...
, libertariansLibertarianismLibertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
, and the HMO industry. Wendell PotterWendell PotterWendell Potter is former Vice President of corporate communications at CIGNA, one of the United States' largest health insurance companies. In June 2009, he testified against the HMO industry in the U.S. Senate as a whistleblower....
, who used to work for one of the largest American health insuranceHealth insuranceHealth insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
companies and testified in June 2009 against the HMO industry in the US Senate as a whistleblowerWhistleblowerA whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
, described in a commentary written for CNN Politics from personal experience how opposition against health care reformHealth care reform debate in the United StatesThe health care reform debate in the United States has been a political issue for many years, focusing upon increasing coverage, decreasing the cost and social burden of healthcare, insurance reform, and the philosophy of its provision, funding, and government involvement...
proposals is manufactured behind the scenes: - In 1996, Philip MorrisPhilip Morris USAPhilip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. Philip Morris USA brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson and Hedges, Merit, Parliament, Alpine, Basic, Cambridge, Bucks, Dave's, Chesterfield, Collector's Choice, Commander, English Ovals, Lark, L&M, Players and...
funded the creation of the "Guest Choice Network," which opposed regulation of smoking in restaurants, bars, and hotels. The group, now called the Center for Consumer FreedomCenter for Consumer FreedomThe Center for Consumer Freedom , formerly the Guest Choice Network, is a non-profit American lobby group. It describes itself as "dedicated to protecting consumer choices and promoting common sense," and defending "the right of adults and parents to choose how they live their lives, what they eat...
, today is primarily funded by agribusiness and food companies. A complaint was filed with the IRS by Citizens for Consumer Ethics, alleging that the organization had violated the conditions of its tax-exempt status. - In 1998, Paul ReitsmaPaul ReitsmaPaul Reitsma is a former member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada, for the electoral district of Parksville-Qualicum.Reitsma served as the mayor of Port Alberni and Parksville, prior to his move to provincial politics....
, former member of the Legislative Assembly of British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, was accused of writing letters to newspapers under assumed names praising himself and attacking his political opponents. A ParksvilleParksville, British Columbia-Demographics:Parksville had a population of 10,993 people in 2006, which was an increase of 6.5% from the 2001 census count. The median household income in 2006 for Parksville was $55,524, which is below the British Columbia provincial average of $62,346....
newspaper had asked a former RCMP handwriting expertQuestioned document examinationQuestioned document examination is the forensic science discipline pertaining to documents that are in dispute in a court of law...
to compare a sample of Reitsma's handwriting to that of letters to the editor submitted by a "Warren Betanko", and then ran a story titled "MLA Reitsma is a liar and we can prove it". For this, Reitsma was expelledExpulsionExpulsion may refer to:*Expulsion , removing a student from a school or university*Expulsion from the United States Congress*Deportation, the expulsion of someone from a country*Population transfer, the forced migration of people by the state...
from the caucusCaucusA caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
of the British Columbia Liberal PartyBritish Columbia Liberal PartyThe British Columbia Liberal Party is the governing political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected for government in 1916, the party went into decline after 1952, with its rump caucus merging with the Social Credit Party for the 1975 election...
and then compelled to resign his seat after it became obvious that an effort to recallRecall electionA recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote before his or her term has ended...
him would succeed.
Political
Organizations representing opposing schools of political thought have engaged in this activity worldwide.Examples include:
- The "Brooks Brothers riotBrooks Brothers riotThe Brooks Brothers riot is the term coined to describe the demonstration at a meeting of election canvassers in Miami-Dade County, Florida on November 19, 2000, during a recount of votes made during the 2000 United States presidential election...
" of November 2000, which has been billed as a "spontaneous grassroots uprising", has been cited as an example of astroturfing by US Republican Party operatives.
- During the campaign for the 2005 general election, Britain's Labour party activists wrote letters to newspapers and posed as 'local people' to greet Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
.
- Since 2005, schools and political party organizations in the People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
are recruiting paid-per-comment bloggers countering unfavorable information on websites, bulletin boards, and other internet-accessible sources; they are collectively known as the 50 Cent Party50 Cent PartyThe 50 Cent Party is a pejorative unofficial term for Internet commentators hired by the government of the People's Republic of China or the Communist Party to post comments favorable towards party policies in an attempt to shape and sway public opinion on various Internet message boards...
. - In August 2006, a science journalist for the Wall Street Journal revealed that a YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video, "Al Gore's Penguin Army", which was claimed to be an amateur work, in fact came from the computers of DCI GroupDCI GroupDCI Group is an American public relations, lobbying and business consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. The company was founded in 1996 as a grassroots consulting firm, and has since expanded its practice to become a public affairs company offering a range of services...
, a Washington, D.C.-based PR firm whose client list includes ExxonMobilExxonMobilExxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
and General MotorsGeneral MotorsGeneral Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
. (See Al Gore's Penguin Army video controversy.) This hoax was discovered when journalist Antonio Ragalado noticed that the YouTube video was the first sponsored listing when he performed a GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
search for Al GoreAl GoreAlbert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
. The fact that someone paid to have the alleged amateur film promoted was in itself suspicious. - In September 2008, Dutch columnist Margriet Oostveen wrote about her experiences ghostwritingGhostwriterA ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
letters for the McCain presidential campaignJohn McCain presidential campaign, 2008John McCain, the senior United States Senator from Arizona, launched his second candidacy for the presidency of the United States in an unsuccessful bid to win the 2008 presidential election. His candidacy, in the works for a number of years, was informally announced on February 28, 2007 during a...
. Her editors at Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
asked her for proof that she had ghost-written letters, and she provided sample letters and lists of talking-points that the McCain campaign had provided to her. - In December 2008, Russian human rights defender Sergei KovalevSergei KovalevSergei Kovalev is a Russian human rights activist and politician and a former Soviet dissident and political prisoner.- Early career and arrest :...
wrote that the Public Chamber of RussiaPublic Chamber of RussiaThe Public Chamber is a state institution with 126 members created in 2005 in Russia to analyze draft legislation and monitor the activities of the parliament, government and other government bodies of Russia and its Federal Subjects. It has a role similar to an oversight committee and has...
failed to intervene in major human rights violations around the country. He wrote that the government set up the Chamber by the Soviet-era recipes for puppet non-government organizations, GONGOGONGOGONGO stands for Government-Organized Non-Governmental Organization, which may have been set up by governments to look like NGOs in order to qualify for outside aid, or mitigate specific issues related to in-country work or international relations...
s. - In August 2009, Washington DC-based lobbyist firm Bonner & AssociatesBonner & AssociatesBonner & Associates is a public relations firm formed in 1984.-History:Bonner & Associates is a public affairs firm with 27 years experience in grassrots advocacy...
acknowledged sending forged letters in opposition to the American Clean Energy and Security ActAmerican Clean Energy and Security ActThe American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 was an energy bill in the 111th United States Congress that would have established a variant of an emissions trading plan similar to the European Union Emission Trading Scheme...
. The letters, sent to Rep. Tom PerrielloTom PerrielloThomas Stuart Price "Tom" Perriello is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes much of Southside Virginia and stretches north to Charlottesville....
, appeared to be from members of the NAACPNational Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleThe National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
and the Latino organization Creciendo Juntos. Bonner & Associates has in the past been caught astroturfing for organizations such as Philip Morris (now AltriaAltria GroupAltria Group, Inc. is based in Henrico County, Virginia, and is the parent company of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc., U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, Inc., Philip Morris Capital Corporation, and Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. It is one of the world's largest tobacco corporations...
) and PhRMA, as well as defrauding the U.S. Government. A NAACP response stated, "Bonner and Associates are exploiting the African-American Community to achieve their misdirected goal.″ - In August 2009, FreedomWorksFreedomWorksFreedomWorks is a conservative non-profit organization based in Washington D.C., United States. FreedomWorks trains volunteers, assists in campaigns, and encourages them to mobilize, interacting with both fellow citizens and their political representatives....
, a corporate and individual-funded conservative political activist organization, and 60 Plus Association60 Plus AssociationThe 60 Plus Association is an American conservative advocacy group founded in 1992 and based in Arlington, Virginia, that bills itself as the conservatives' alternative to the AARP, . Over the years, it has sought to privatize Social Security, end the federal estate tax, and strengthen gun rights...
, a self-described "conservative alternative to the AARPAARPAARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is the United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, a retired educator from California, and based in Washington, D.C. According to its mission statement, it is "a...
", played an instrumental role in organizing health care reform protests at a large number of Democratic legislators' town hall meetings. Health care reform proponents have labeled FreedomWorks' efforts as "astroturf", because they use millions of dollars in corporate funding to support conservative "tea party" protests. NewsweekNewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
has stated that the organization has issued instructions and tactics on "how to make the demonstrations look homegrown". A FreedomWorks representative disputes the classification of this as 'astroturfing', saying, "there always needs to be some kind of organization — we provide the organizational backbone." The AARPAARPAARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is the United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, a retired educator from California, and based in Washington, D.C. According to its mission statement, it is "a...
has described 60 Plus Association60 Plus AssociationThe 60 Plus Association is an American conservative advocacy group founded in 1992 and based in Arlington, Virginia, that bills itself as the conservatives' alternative to the AARP, . Over the years, it has sought to privatize Social Security, end the federal estate tax, and strengthen gun rights...
as being a front group for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of AmericaPharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of AmericaPharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America , founded in 1958, is a trade group representing the pharmaceutical research and biopharmaceutical companies in the United States. PhRMA's stated mission is advocacy for public policies that encourage the discovery of new medicines for patients...
. - The Tea Party movementTea Party movementThe Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
has been described as astroturfed, with 26% of the public respondening in a 2010 Rasmussen poll that the Tea Party is astroturfed. Tea Partier Tim Phillips commented to Politico that "For a long time, the left called us Astroturf and it was demonstrably untrue...". During bouts of political in-fighting, Tea Party factions have even derided other Tea Party factions as Astroturfed, due to their funding and organization by Republican interests. - The 2011 anti-union drive in Wisconsin led by Governor Scott WalkerScott Walker (politician)Scott Kevin Walker is an American Republican politician who began serving as the 45th Governor of Wisconsin on January 3, 2011, after defeating Democratic candidate Tom Barrett, 52 percent to 47 percent in the November 2010 general election...
has been criticized as, in part, an astroturf campaign by Americans for ProsperityAmericans for ProsperityAmericans for Prosperity is a Washington, D.C.–based political advocacy group. According to their literature, they promote economic policy that supports business, and restrains regulation by government...
, which is supported by the Koch brothersPolitical activities of the Koch familyThe political activities of the Koch family are the political activities of the family of Fred C. Koch, a co-founder of Koch Industries, an oil, gas, and chemical conglomerate which is the second largest privately held company in the United States with annual revenues of $110 billion...
. - In August 2009 GreenpeaceGreenpeaceGreenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
revealed a leaked email from the American Petroleum InstituteAmerican Petroleum InstituteThe American Petroleum Institute, commonly referred to as API, is the largest U.S trade association for the oil and natural gas industry...
(API) in which its members, oil companies like ExxonMobilExxonMobilExxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
, ShellRoyal Dutch ShellRoyal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
, BPBPBP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
, ConocoPhilips are urged to send employees to 'Energy Citizen' rallies aimed to mobilize resistance against the Waxman-Markey climate change bill. - The Stop Too Big To Fail effort has been described as an astroturf operation funded by corporate interests intended to give the appearance of grassroots opposition to financial reform. Run by Consumers for Competitive Choice, an astroturfing firm, advertisement campaigns urged viewers to vote against the reform bill, with the goal of killing financial reform altogether.
- In August 2010, the Alliance of Australian Retailers commenced a campaign against Plain cigarette packagingPlain cigarette packagingPlain cigarette packaging is Australian legislation that requires cigarettes to be sold in plain packages throughout the country from December 2012. Branding and advertising will be replaced by logo-free, drab dark brown packaging with health warnings...
during the 2010 Australian Federal Election. It was later revealed that the AAR was started and funded by the Australian arm of Tobacco Company Philip Morris InternationalPhilip Morris InternationalPhilip Morris International is an international tobacco company, with products sold in over 160 countries. In 2007, it held a 15.6% share of the international cigarette market outside of the USA and reported revenues net of excise taxes of $22.8 billion and operating income of $8.9 billion.Until...
. - In TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
one of Mayor Rob FordRob FordRobert Bruce "Rob" Ford is the 64th and current Mayor of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was first elected to city council in the 2000 Toronto municipal election, and was re-elected to his council seat in 2003 and again in 2006...
's election campaign workers was involved in the creation of one fake social media profile in order to attempt to mitigate perceived potentially damaging information about to be leaked by a left wing Newspaper. This was openly admitted days after the election victory.
- An Indiana University research study during 2010 developed a software system to detect astroturfing in the TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
stream. "Some of these cases caught the attention of the popular press due to the sensitivity of the topic in the run up to the 2010 U.S. midterm political elections, and subsequently many of the accounts involved were suspended by Twitter". The study cited a limited number of examples, all promoting conservative policies and candidates.
- Many town hall protesters against Congressional Republicans such as Rick Berg, Pat Meehan, Dan Webster, and Paul Ryan done in opposition to the 2011 budget by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and Health Care for American Now (HCAN) members have been described as astroturf. Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks, has said "getting people information about where town halls are held and where their views are on the Ryan budget— that’s exactly what we did during the health care, but again, they accused us of Astroturf, so they’re essentially being hoisted on their own petard". The liberal groups dispute the classification saying that if the group "funding the talking points and email alerts isn’t telling you who is funding them—that to me is the difference between Astroturf or cashroots organization and group that isn’t." They say that they’re educating their membership, and, in turn, the grassroots is making its way to town hall events and engaging in other forms of activism. "All you have to do is look at the footage of these town halls—these events are as organic as it gets," says Ethan Rome, executive director of HCAN. "There’s authentic anger about what Republicans are doing, and people understand that this is important.". In one unambiguous case of astroturfing, a man attempted to put on a disguise in order to criticize Paul Ryan a second time. Ryan called on him before remarking, "You changed clothes!".
Business
- In 2001, the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
accused MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
of astroturfing when hundreds of similar letters were sent to newspapers voicing disagreement with the United States Department of JusticeUnited States Department of JusticeThe United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
and its antitrustAntitrustThe United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
suit against Microsoft. The letters, prepared by Americans for Technology LeadershipAmericans for Technology LeadershipAmericans for Technology Leadership is a coalition of technology professionals, companies and organizations that advocates limited government regulation of technology...
, had in some cases been delivered via a mailing listMailing listA mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is referred to as "the mailing list", or simply "the...
to deceased people or incorrect addresses, where the recipients forwarded them without correction. - In 2002, The Guardian newspaper revealed the philosopher Roger ScrutonRoger ScrutonRoger Vernon Scruton is a conservative English philosopher and writer. He is the author of over 30 books, including Art and Imagination , Sexual Desire , The Aesthetics of Music , and A Political Philosophy: Arguments For Conservatism...
had offered to place pro-tobacco opinion pieces in major newspapers and magazines in return for a fee £5500 from Japan Tobacco International. - In July 2004, RealNetworksRealNetworksRealNetworks, Inc. is a provider of Internet media delivery software and services based in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. The company is the creator of RealAudio, a compressed audio format; RealVideo, a compressed video format; RealPlayer, a media player; RealDownloader, a download...
tried to press Apple Inc. to open up their FairPlay DRMDigital rights managementDigital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
for the iPodIPodiPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
with the Harmony plug-in. The work-around allows users to purchase songs from RealNetworks' RhapsodyRhapsody (online music service)Rhapsody is an online music store subscription service, launched in December 2001, and available in the United States only. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody officially declared its independence from RealNetworks. Downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsody's version...
and then convert it for use for the iPod. They also set up an internet petition "Hey Apple! Don't break my iPod" and slashed the prices of its songs to below that of iTunes. Many posters reacted negatively and accused RealNetworks of astroturfing. - In March 2006, the Save Our Species AllianceSave Our Species AllianceSave Our Species Alliance, Inc. was an American political group, established in December 2004, which is critical of the Endangered Species Act and other environmental legislation. It has been criticized by environmentalists as a front group for wealthy cattle and timber interests which consider...
was exposed as a front group created by a timber lobbyist to weaken the Endangered Species ActEndangered Species ActThe Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
. Its campaignPolitical campaignA political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
director is Tim WigleyTim WigleyTim Wigley is an American lobbyist working primarily on resource and environmental issues. He is Executive Vice President of PAC/WEST Communications. He was formerly the president of the Oregon Forest Industries Council and worked as director of communications for pulp and paper company...
, the executive directorExecutive directorExecutive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
of Pac/West Communications. Wigley was also the campaign director for Project Protect, a front group which spent $2.9 million to help pass President BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's Healthy Forests legislation, which has been criticized for its pro-industry bias. The Save Our Species Alliance web site portrays itself as a grassroots organization, but is criticized by environmentalists for being a front group for wealthy cattle and timber interests which consider federal environmental legislation an impediment to profit. - In March 2006 video game manufacturers faced over seventy anti-games bills across the United States. Embattled, they established the Video Game Voters Network, "a new grassroots political network for gamers" which publicly portrayed itself as a populist effort to lobby state and federal legislators against supporting violent video game-related legislation. In April 2007, in an interview on video game news website GameDailyGameDailyGameDaily was a video game journalism website based in the United States. Launched in 1995 by entrepreneur Mark Friedler under the name Gigex and focused on free game demo downloads, The site changed its business model from a flat fee per download CDN distributed service network to an...
, consumer advocate and founder of the Entertainment Consumers AssociationEntertainment Consumers AssociationEntertainment Consumers Association is a United States-based non-partisan, non-government, non-profit organization dedicated to the interests of individuals who play computer and video games in the United States and Canada.-History:Mr...
(ECA), Hal Halpin, stated that "The Videogame Voters Network is very needed and wanted by the industry, but it's supported by the industry, so it's called 'astroturfing', where[as] our organization is grassroots and the difference in the two pieces of terminology is significant when it comes to legislators because they'll look at an astroturf organization as one that's backed by the industry; funded by them, run by them, organized by them." The following day Entertainment Software AssociationEntertainment Software AssociationThe Entertainment Software Association is the trade association of the video game industry in the United States. It was formed in April 1994 as the Interactive Digital Software Association and renamed on July 16, 2003...
(ESA) spokesperson Caroyln Rauch responded in a written statement, "...calling the VGVN 'astroturf' is not only counterproductive and just not correct, but it also demeans the passion and energy of its members." - Working Families for Wal-MartWorking Families for Wal-MartWorking Families for Walmart is an advocacy group formed by Walmart and the Edelman public relations firm on December 20, 2005. It has been used to praise Wal-Mart in a show of opposition to union-funded groups such as Wake Up Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart Watch. The group is financially supported by...
portrays itself as a grassroots organization, but was started and funded by Wal-MartWal-MartWal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
. It paid former Atlanta mayor Andrew YoungAndrew YoungAndrew Jackson Young is an American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor from Georgia. He has served as Mayor of Atlanta, a Congressman from the 5th district, and United States Ambassador to the United Nations...
to head the organization. - In December 2006, the "All I want for Xmas is a PSP" marketing campaign by ZipatoniZipatoniZipatoni is an American marketing company that provides clients "zany" and "off-beat" marketing services, mainly through buzz marketing or viral marketing....
and SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
sparked ridicule from the gaming community when it was discovered that the fake blogFake blogA fake blog is an electronic communication form that appears to originate from a credible, non-biased source, but which in fact is created by a company or organization for the purpose of marketing a product, service, or political viewpoint...
was in fact assembled by a marketing team. (See PlayStation Portable#Controversial advertising campaigns)
- In early 2007, a number of advertisements appeared on London UndergroundLondon UndergroundThe London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
trains warning commuters that 75% of all the information on the web flowed through one site (implied to be GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
), with a URL for www.information-revolution.org. Links also appeared on the homepage of Ask.comAsk.comAsk is a Q&A focused search engine founded in 1996 by Garrett Gruener and David Warthen in Berkeley, California. The original software was implemented by Gary Chevsky from his own design. Warthen, Chevsky, Justin Grant, and others built the early AskJeeves.com website around that core engine...
and in videos on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. Both the adverts and website were designed in shades of red, white and black associated with anarchist movements. The website was intended to foster debate about the use of search engines, with messages such as "One source isn’t choice". However, when web users found out that the site was actually built for Ask.com by the marketing company ProferoProferoProfero is an independent, privately owned digital marketing agency founded in London in March 1998. Specialising in advertising and marketing with over 500 employees, covering all aspects of digital marketing; creative, media, technology, UX and strategy in fifteen cities: Beijing, Hong Kong,...
, the site's forum became overwhelmed with negative messages. - In August 2007 Comcast Corporation's public relations representatives were accused of astroturfing by posing as fans on internet college team message boards in an effort to spread their negative views about the newly created Big Ten Network. Additionally, Comcast created their own marketing campaign "Putting Fans First" on radio and on the web. At that time Comcast and the Big Ten Network were involved in acrimonious negotiations.
- In January 2008 Daniel DiFiore, the customer service manager of social networking site Moli.com was caught posting 'booster' comments under an alias on several web sites, including GetSatisfaction.com, TechcrunchTechCrunchTechCrunch is a web publication that offers technology news and analysis, as well as profiling of startup companies, products, and websites. It was founded by Michael Arrington in 2005, and was first published on June 11, 2005....
and DiggDiggDigg is a social news website. Prior to Digg v4, its cornerstone function consisted of letting people vote stories up or down, called digging and burying, respectively. Digg's popularity prompted the creation of copycat social networking sites with story submission and voting systems...
. - In February 2008 Comcast paid individuals to take up seats at a Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications CommissionThe Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) hearing into Comcast's network managementNetwork managementNetwork management refers to the activities, methods, procedures, and tools that pertain to the operation, administration, maintenance, and provisioning of networked systems....
practices, including RST packet spoofing using SandvineSandvineSandvine Incorporated , in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.Sandvine network policy control products are designed to implement broad network policies, ranging from service creation, billing, congestion management, and security...
. These individuals fell asleep, applauded on cue, and took up so much room that a number of people with anti-Comcast sentiment were shut out. - Hands Off The Internet (HOTI) purports to be a campaign for internet users' rights but in fact the site is owned by big telecom companies and is actually a front to push the telecom industry's objections to internet neutrality.
- In late 2008, in OsakaOsakais a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan, McDonald'sMcDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
acknowledged hiring people to stand in line for a new hamburger release. The part-time workers were given a stipend for the product that were to be included in the store's sales figures. - In 2009, in MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada, Morrow Communications, a marketing company, acknowledged creating a dummy blog falsely pretending to be managed by 3 individuals to promote the use of bicycles in Montreal. They also created videos for the Blog and a FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
webpage. Everything was in fact a marketing campaign, to prepare the launch of BixiBIXIBixi is a public bicycle sharing system developed by the Public Bike System Company , which itself was set up by the parking authority of Montréal to create a modular bicycle sharing system for Montréal....
, the new public bike system in Montreal. - Lifestyle LiftLifestyle LiftLifestyle Lift is a cosmetic surgery practice based in Troy, Michigan, United States. The company's name in all caps is also a trademarked brand name used to market a particular type of facial surgery....
was charged a $300,000 penalty by the State of New York for anonymous positive reviews about the company in Internet message boards and other Web sites - BusinessWeekBusinessWeekBloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...
has stated that the public relationsPublic relationsPublic relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
firm ASK Public Strategies, which works on behalf of clients including Chicago Children's MuseumChicago Children's MuseumThe Chicago Children's Museum is located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1982 by The Junior League of Chicago who were responding to programming cutbacks in the Chicago Public Schools...
, ComEd, AT&TAT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
and ComcastComcastComcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, has helped set up front organizations that were listed as sponsors of public-issue ads. Some industry insiders have called this astroturfing. ASK's managing partner, Eric Sedler says opponents mischaracterize what ASK does, saying "I reject the notion that a company can't advocate a public policy." - October 2009, administration at North Carolina State University (NCSU) are leading a campaign for new Student Center. Although all money for the campaign came from the administration, they have recruited student leaders to campaign to the rest of campus, and student senate. Students have now formed their own GrassrootsGrassrootsA grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
campaigns in response to the Rally and have voiced their opinions directly to the student government. - In 2010, a number of large Canadian television providers, including RogersRogers CommunicationsRogers Communications Inc. is one of Canada's largest communications companies, particularly in the field of wireless communications, cable television, home phone and internet with additional telecommunications and mass media assets...
, BellBell CanadaBell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...
, and TelusTELUSTelus is a national telecommunications company in Canada that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, video, and satellite television. The company is based in Burnaby, British Columbia, part of Greater Vancouver...
, started an astroturfing advertisement campaign against a proposed tax increase on the TV providers. Their advertisements included facts that 'the Big Networks don't want Canadians to know' and statements such as 'Customers make case to CRTC against Big Networks' proposed TV tax'. - In 2010 the organization "BalancedCopyright for Canada" made use of blogs, Facebook and Twitter in an Astroturfing effort to influence the adoption of Bill C-32, Canada's "Digital Economy Strategy" by making it appear the bill had widespread public appeal.
Government
- In 2011 it was revealed that HBGary Federal was contracted by the U.S. government to develop astroturfing software to manipulate and sway public opinion on controversial issues. This software could also scan for people with points of view the powers-that-be didn't like and then have the "fake" profiles attempt to discredit those "real" people.
- Perhaps related to the HBGary Federal contract, the US Air Force in Solicitation Number RTB220610 sought "persona management software" for "classified social media activities."
See also
- Agenda setting theory
- Agent ProvocateurAgent ProvocateurAgent Provocateur is the fifth studio album by American/British rock band Foreigner, released in 1984. A concept album, the songs tell the story of a spy who sees life through both the inside and the outside. The album was the band's first and only number one album in the UK, and it reached the top...
- ClaqueClaqueClaque is an organized body of professional applauders in French theatres and opera houses. Members of a claque are called claqueurs....
- False flagFalse flagFalse flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...
- Front organizationFront organizationA front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or corporations...
- Push pollPush pollA push poll is a political campaign technique in which an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of respondents under the guise of conducting a poll. In a push poll, large numbers of respondents are contacted, and little or no effort is made to collect and analyze...
- ShillShillA shill, plant or stooge is a person who helps a person or organization without disclosing that he or she has a close relationship with that person or organization...
- Sock puppeteeringSockpuppet (Internet)A sockpuppet is an online identity used for purposes of deception. The term—a reference to the manipulation of a simple hand puppet made from a sock—originally referred to a false identity assumed by a member of an internet community who spoke to, or about himself while pretending to be another...
– a form of personal astroturfing common in Internet communities - Spin (public relations)Spin (public relations)In public relations, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain organization or public figure...
- Troll (Internet)Troll (Internet)In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response...
- Viral marketingViral marketingViral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
External links
- Primer on Grassroots Lobbying Disclosure from Center for Competitive PoliticsCenter for Competitive PoliticsThe Center for Competitive Politics is a Section 501 non-profit organization headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. The CCP's mission statement is "through legal briefs, studies, historical and constitutional analyses, and media communication, to educate the public on the actual effects of money...
- Outside Lobbying, by Ken Kollman
- Who Will Tell the People?, by William Greider
- Letters From Iraq from SourceWatchSourceWatchSourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...
- Paul D. ThackerPaul D. ThackerPaul D. Thacker, sometimes bylined as Paul Thacker, is an American journalist who specializes in science, medicine and environmental reporting. He has written for Science, Journal of the American Medical Association, Salon.com, and The New Republic, and Environmental Science & Technology...
, "Hidden ties: Big environmental changes backed by big industry Lobbyists and industry officials who once pushed for the president’s Healthy Forests legislation now collaborate with Rep. [Richard] PomboRichard PomboRichard William Pombo is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, having represented California's 11th congressional district from 1993 to 2007...
to alter the Endangered Species Act", Environmental Science & Technology, March 8, 2006. - Wolves in Sheeps Clothing: Telecom Industry Front Groups and Astroturf (.pdf) a special report prepared by the Common Cause Education Fund, March 2006.
- Political parties and their use of modern media in obtaining information superiority
- P.& G. Link in Amex Contest Raises Questions of Fairness, NY Times article on alleged astroturfing by Procter & GambleProcter & GambleProcter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
in the American ExpressAmerican ExpressAmerican Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
Members Project.