Astroturfing

Astroturfing is the practice of masking the sponsors of a message or organization (e.g., political, advertising, religious or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by grassroots participants. It is a practice intended to give the statements or organizations credibility by withholding information about the source's financial connection. The term astroturfing is derived from AstroTurf, a brand of synthetic carpeting designed to resemble natural grass, as a play on the word "grassroots". The implication behind the use of the term is that instead of a "true" or "natural" grassroots effort behind the activity in question, there is a "fake" or "artificial" appearance of support.

This article is about the type of advocacy. For the artificial grass, see AstroTurf.

Definition

In political science, it is defined as the process of seeking electoral victory or legislative relief for grievances by helping political actors find and mobilize a sympathetic public, and is designed to create the image of public consensus where there is none.[1][2] Astroturfing is the use of fake grassroots efforts that primarily focus on influencing public opinion and typically are funded by corporations and governmental entities to form opinions.[3] On the Internet, astroturfers use software to mask their identity. Sometimes one individual operates through many personas to give the impression of widespread support for their client's agenda.[4][5] Some studies suggest astroturfing can alter public viewpoints and create enough doubt to inhibit action.[6][7] In the first systematic study of astroturfing in the United States, Oxford Professor Philip N. Howard argued that the internet was making it much easier for powerful lobbyists and political movements to activate small groups of aggrieved citizens to have an exaggerated importance in public policy debates.[2]

Policies and enforcement

Many countries have laws that prohibit more overt astroturfing practices.[8] In the United States the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may send cease-and-desist orders or require a fine of $16,000 per day for those that violate its "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."[8][9] The FTC's guides were updated in 2009 to address social media and word-of-mouth marketing.[10][11] According to an article in the Journal of Consumer Policy, the FTC's guides holds advertisers responsible for ensuring bloggers or product endorsers comply with the guides, and any product endorsers with a material connection are required to provide honest reviews.[8]

In the European Union, the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive requires that paid-for editorial content in the media provide a clear disclosure that the content is a sponsored advertisement.[8] Additionally, it prohibits those with a material connection from misleading readers into thinking they are a regular consumer.[8]

The United Kingdom has the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations,[12] which prohibits "Falsely representing oneself as a consumer." They allow for up to two years in prison and unlimited fines for breaches.[8] Additionally, the advertising industry in the UK has adopted many voluntary policies, such as the Code of Non-Broadcast Advertising, Sale, Promotion and Direct Marketing. A trade association, the Advertising Standards Authority, investigates complaints of breaches. The policy requires that marketing professionals not mislead their audience, including by omitting a disclosure of their material connection.[8]

In Australia astroturfing is regulated by Section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law, which broadly prohibits "misleading and deceptive conduct." According to the Journal of Consumer Policy, Australia's laws, which were introduced in 1975, are more vague. In most cases, they are enforced through lawsuits from competitors, rather than the regulatory body, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.[8] There is also an International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN).[13]

Legal regulations are primarily targeted towards testimonials, endorsements and statements as to the performance or quality of a product. Employees of an organization may be considered acting as customers if their actions are not guided by authority within the company.[13]

In October 2018, after denying that they had paid for people to show up in support of a controversial power plant development project in New Orleans, Entergy was fined five million dollars for using astroturf firm The Hawthorn Group to provide actors to prevent real community members' voices from being counted at city council meetings and show false grassroots support.[14]

Debate

Effectiveness

In the book Grassroots for Hire: Public Affairs Consultants in American Democracy, Edward Walker defines "astroturfing" as public participation that is perceived as heavily incentivized, as fraudulent (claims are attributed to those who did not make such statements), or as an elite campaign masquerading as a mass movement.[15] Although not all campaigns by professional grassroots lobbying consultants meet this definition, the book finds that the elite-sponsored grassroots campaigns often fail when they are not transparent about their sources of sponsorship and/or fail to develop partnerships with constituencies that have an independent interest in the issue. Walker highlights the case of Working Families for Wal-Mart, in which the campaign's lack of transparency led to its demise.

A study published in the Journal of Business Ethics examined the effects of websites operated by front groups on students. It found that astroturfing was effective at creating uncertainty and lowering trust about claims, thereby changing perceptions that tend to favor the business interests behind the astroturfing effort.[3] The New York Times reported that "consumer" reviews are more effective, because "they purport to be testimonials of real people, even though some are bought and sold just like everything else on the commercial Internet."[16] Some organizations feel that their business is threatened by negative comments, so they may engage in astroturfing to drown them out.[17] Online comments from astroturfing employees can also sway the discussion through the influence of groupthink.[18]

Justification

Some astroturfing operatives defend their practice.[19] Regarding "movements that have organized aggressively to exaggerate their sway," author Ryan Sager said that this "isn't cheating. Doing everything in your power to get your people to show up is basic politics."[20] According to a Porter/Novelli executive, "There will be times when the position you advocate, no matter how well framed and supported, will not be accepted by the public simply because you are who you are."[21]

Impact on society

Data mining expert Bing Liu (University of Illinois) estimated that one-third of all consumer reviews on the Internet are fake.[16] According to The New York Times, this has made it hard to tell the difference between "popular sentiment" and "manufactured public opinion".[22] According to an article in the Journal of Business Ethics, astroturfing threatens the legitimacy of genuine grassroots movements. The authors argued that astroturfing that is "purposefully designed to fulfill corporate agendas, manipulate public opinion and harm scientific research represents a serious lapse in ethical conduct."[3] A 2011 report found that often paid posters from competing companies are attacking each other in forums and overwhelming regular participants in the process.[23] George Monbiot said that persona-management software supporting astroturfing "could destroy the Internet as a forum for constructive debate".[24] An article in the Journal of Consumer Policy said that regulators and policy makers needed to be more aggressive about astroturfing. The author said that it undermines the public's ability to inform potential customers of sub-standard products or inappropriate business practices, but also noted that fake reviews were difficult to detect.[8]

Techniques

Use of one or more front groups is one astroturfing technique. These groups typically present themselves as serving the public interest, while actually working on behalf of a corporate or political sponsor.[25] Front groups may resist legislation and scientific consensus that is damaging to the sponsor's business by emphasizing minority viewpoints, instilling doubt and publishing counterclaims by corporate-sponsored experts.[3] Fake blogs can also be created that appear to be written by consumers, while actually being operated by a commercial or political interest.[26] Some political movements have provided incentives for members of the public to send a letter to the editor at their local paper, often using a copy and paste form letter that is published in dozens of newspapers verbatim.[27]

Another technique is the use of sockpuppets, where a single person creates multiple identities online to give the appearance of grassroots support. Sockpuppets may post positive reviews about a product, attack participants that criticize the organization, or post negative reviews and comments about competitors, under fake identities.[17][28] Astroturfing businesses may pay staff based on the number of posts they make that are not flagged by moderators.[23] Persona management software may be used so that each paid poster can manage five to seventy convincing online personas without getting them confused.[24][29]

Pharmaceutical companies may sponsor patient support groups and simultaneously push them to help market their products.[30] Bloggers who receive free products, paid travel or other accommodations may also be considered astroturfing if those gifts are not disclosed to the reader.[31] Analysts could be considered astroturfing, since they often cover their own clients without disclosing their financial connection. To avoid astroturfing, many organizations and press have policies about gifts, accommodations and disclosures.[32]

Detection

Persona management software can age accounts and simulate the activity of attending a conference automatically to make it more convincing that they are genuine.[33] At HBGary, employees are given separate thumb drives that contain online accounts for individual identities and visual cues to remind the employee which identity they are using at the time.[33]

Mass letters may be printed on personalized stationery using different typefaces, colors and words to make them appear personal.[34]

According to an article in The New York Times, the Federal Trade Commission rarely enforces its astroturfing laws.[16] However, astroturfing operations are frequently detected if their profile images are recognized[35] or if they are identified through the usage patterns of their accounts.[23] Filippo Menczer's group at Indiana University developed software in 2010 that detects astroturfing on Twitter by recognizing behavioral patterns.[36][37][38]

Business and adoption

According to an article in the Journal of Consumer Policy, academics disagree on how prolific astroturfing is.[8]

According to Nancy Clark from Precision Communications, grass-roots specialists charge $25 to $75 for each constituent they convince to send a letter to a politician.[34] Paid online commentators in China are purportedly paid 50 cents for each online post that is not removed by moderators,[23] leading to the nickname of the "50-cent party."[18] The New York Times reported that a business selling fake online book reviews charged $999 for 50 reviews and made $28,000 a month shortly after opening.[16]

According to the Financial Times, astroturfing is "commonplace" in American politics, but was "revolutionary" in Europe when it was exposed that the European Privacy Association, an anti-privacy "think-tank", was actually sponsored by technology companies.[39]

History of incidents

Origins

Although the term "astroturfing" was not yet developed, an early example of the practice was in Act 1, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. In the play, Cassius writes fake letters from "the public" to convince Brutus to assassinate Caesar.[13]

The term "astroturfing" was first coined in 1985 by Texas Democratic Party senator Lloyd Bentsen when he said, "a fellow from Texas can tell the difference between grass roots and AstroTurf... this is generated mail."[13][40] Bentsen was describing a "mountain of cards and letters" sent to his office to promote insurance industry interests.[41]

Tobacco

In response to the passage of tobacco control legislation in the US, Philip Morris, Burson-Marsteller and other tobacco interests created the National Smokers Alliance (NSA) in 1993. The NSA and other tobacco interests initiated an aggressive public relations campaign from 1994 to 1999 in an effort to exaggerate the appearance of grassroots support for smoker's rights. According to an article in the Journal of Health Communication, the NSA had mixed success at defeating bills that were damaging revenues of tobacco interests.[42]

Internet

Email, automated phone calls, form letters, and the Internet made astroturfing more economical and prolific in the late 1990s.[24][40] In 2001, as Microsoft was defending itself against an antitrust lawsuit, Americans for Technology Leadership (ATL), a group heavily funded by Microsoft, initiated a letter-writing campaign. ATL contacted constituents under the guise of conducting a poll and sent pro-Microsoft consumers form and sample letters to send to involved lawmakers. The effort was designed to make it appear as though there was public support for a sympathetic ruling in the antitrust lawsuit.[34][43]

In January 2018, YouTube user Isaac Protiva uploaded a video alleging that internet service provider Fidelity Communications was behind an initiative called "Stop City-Funded Internet," based on how some images on the Stop City-Funded Internet website had "Fidelity" in their file names.[44] The campaign appeared to be in response to the city of West Plains expanding their broadband network, and advocated for the end of municipal broadband on the basis that it was too risky.[45][46] Days later, Fidelity released a letter admitting to sponsoring the campaign.[47]

Politics

In 2009–2010, an Indiana University research study developed a software system to detect astroturfing on Twitter due to the sensitivity of the topic in the run up to the 2010 U.S. midterm elections and account suspensions on the social media platform. The study cited a limited number of examples, all promoting conservative policies and candidates.[36][37][38]

In 2003, GOPTeamLeader.com offered the site's users "points" that could be redeemed for products if they signed a form letter promoting George Bush and got a local paper to publish it as a letter to the editor. More than 100 newspapers published an identical letter to the editor from the site with different signatures on it. Similar campaigns were used by GeorgeWBush.com, and by MoveOn.org to promote Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11.[27][48] The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's "Fix the Debt" campaign advocated to reduce government debt without disclosing that its members were lobbyists or high-ranking employees at corporations that aim to reduce federal spending.[49][50] It also sent op-eds to various students that were published as-is.[51]

Many organizations in the Tea Party movement are astroturfed, with direct connections to right-wing think tanks and lobbying organizations, and their activities controlled by wealthy supporters or the GOP.[52]

In 2018 Jeff Ballabon, a Republican operative in his mid-50s, set up a website called "Jexodus" claiming to be by "proud Jewish Millennials tired of living in bondage to leftist politics", but has been denounced as "likely a clumsy astroturf effort rather than an actual grassroots movement".[53][54][55][56] The website was registered November 5, 2018, before the congressional election, and before those representatives accused of anti-Semitism had even been voted in.[56] This website was later cited by Donald Trump as though it were an authentic movement.[53]

Environment

The Koch brothers are known to have started a public advocacy group to prevent the development of wind turbines offshore in Massachusetts. The Kennedy family was also involved.[57][58][59][60][61]

Corporate efforts to mobilize the public against environmental regulation accelerated in the US following the election of president Barack Obama.[62]

In 2014, the Toronto Sun conservative media organization has published an article accusing Russia of using astroturf tactics to drum up anti-fracking sentiment across Europe and the West, supposedly in order to maintain dominance in oil exports through Ukraine.[63]

In Canada, a coalition of oil and gas company executives grouped under the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) also initiated a series of Canadian actions to advocate for the oil and gas industry in Canada through mainstream and social media, and using online campaigning to generate public support for fossil fuel energy projects.[64]

Commercial

In 2006, two Edelman employees created a blog called "Wal-Marting Across America" about two people traveling to Wal-Marts across the country. The blog gave the appearance of being operated by spontaneous consumers, but was actually operated on behalf of Working Families for Walmart, a group funded by Wal-Mart.[65][66] In 2007, Ask.com deployed an anti-Google advertising campaign portraying Google as an "information monopoly" that was damaging the Internet. The ad was designed to give the appearance of a popular movement and did not disclose it was funded by a competitor.[67]

In 2010, the Federal Trade Commission settled a complaint with Reverb Communications, who was using interns to post favorable product reviews in Apple's iTunes store for clients.[68] In September 2012, one of the first major identified case of astroturfing in Finland involved criticisms about the cost of a €1.8 billion patient information system, which was defended by fake online identities operated by involved vendors.[35][69]

In September 2013, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced a settlement with 19 companies to prevent astroturfing. "'Astroturfing' is the 21st century's version of false advertising, and prosecutors have many tools at their disposal to put an end to it," said Scheiderman. The companies paid $350,000 to settle the matter, but the settlement opened the way for private suits as well. "Every state has some version of the statutes New York used," according to lawyer Kelly H. Kolb. "What the New York attorney general has done is, perhaps, to have given private lawyers a road map to file suit."[70][71]

State-sponsored

An Al Jazeera four part mini-series documented Israel's attempt to promote more friendly, pro-Israel rhetoric to influence the attitudes of British youth, namely through influencing already established political bodies, such as the National Union of Students and the Labour Party, or through the creation of other bodies not directly affiliated with the Israeli administration.[72]

In 2008, an expert on Chinese affairs, Rebecca MacKinnon, estimated the country employed 280,000 in a government-sponsored astroturfing operation to post pro-China propaganda and drown out voices of dissent.[23][73]

In June 2010, the United States Air Force solicited for "persona management" software that would "enable an operator to exercise a number of different online persons from the same workstation and without fear of being discovered by sophisticated adversaries. Personas must be able to appear to originate in nearly any part of the world and can interact through conventional online services and social media platforms..."[74] The $2.6 million contract was awarded to Ntrepid Corporation for astroturfing software the military would use to spread pro-American propaganda in the Middle East, and disrupt extremist propaganda and recruitment.[24][75][76][77]

See also

Further reading

References
  1. Howard, Philip N. (2003). "Digitizing the Social Contract: Producing American Political Culture in the Age of New Media". The Communication Review. 6 (3): 213–45. doi:10.1080/10714420390226270. S2CID 145413399.
  2. Howard, Philip N. (2005). New Media Campaigns and the Managed Citizen. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. pp. 93, 144. ISBN 9780521612272.
  3. Cho, Charles H.; Martens, Martin L.; Kim, Hakkyun; Rodrigue, Michelle (2011). "Astroturfing Global Warming: It Isn't Always Greener on the Other Side of the Fence". Journal of Business Ethics. 104 (4): 571–587. doi:10.1007/s10551-011-0950-6. ISSN 0167-4544.
  4. Doctorow, Cory (February 18, 2011). "HBGary's high-volume astroturfing technology and the Feds who requested it". boingboing.
  5. Ludlow, Peter (June 18, 2013). "The Strange Case of Barrett Brown". The Nation.
  6. Lyon, Thomas P.; Maxwell, John W. (2004). "Astroturf: Interest Group Lobbying and Corporate Strategy" (PDF). Journal of Economics & Management Strategy. 13 (4): 561–597. doi:10.1111/j.1430-9134.2004.00023.x. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 11, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  7. Morales, Juan S. (2020). "Perceived Popularity and Online Political Dissent: Evidence from Twitter in Venezuela". The International Journal of Press/Politics. 25: 5–27. doi:10.1177/1940161219872942.
  8. Malbon, Justin (2013). "Taking Fake Online Consumer Reviews Seriously". Journal of Consumer Policy. 36 (2): 139–157. doi:10.1007/s10603-012-9216-7. ISSN 0168-7034.
  9. Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (PDF), Federal Trade Commission, retrieved June 20, 2014
  10. Foresman, Chris (August 27, 2010). "PR firm settles with FTC over alleged App Store astroturfing". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on October 27, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  11. Roberts, Jeff (April 26, 2012). "The ethics of astro-turfing: sleazy or smart business?". Giga Om. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  12. OUTLAW.COM (December 8, 2009). "EU rolls out out astroturf guide for consumer laws". The Register. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  13. Kolivos, Eugenia, and Anna Kuperman. "Web Of Lies – Legal Implications Of Astroturfing." Keeping Good Companies (14447614) 64.1 (2012): 38-41. Business Source Complete. Web. 10 Nov. 2012.
  14. Mazza, Juliana (October 30, 2018). "Report: Entergy Knew It Was Paying for Actors at Not 1, but 2 Meetings." WDSU News. Retrieved from WDSU.com, February 3, 2019.
  15. Walker, Edward (2014). Grassroots for Hire: Public Affairs Consultants in American Democracy. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 33. ISBN 9781107619012.
  16. Streitfeld, David (August 25, 2012). "The Best Book Reviews Money Can Buy". The New York Times. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  17. "Company Settles With State Attorney General Over Fake Online Customer Reviews." Computer & Internet Lawyer 26.10 (2009): 32. Computers & Applied Sciences Complete. Web. 11 Nov. 2012.
  18. Bristow, Michael (December 16, 2008). "China's internet 'spin doctors'". BBC News. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  19. Ben Smith (August 21, 2009). "The Summer of Astroturf". Politico. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  20. Sanger, Ryan (August 19, 2009). "Keep Off the Astroturf". opinion. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
  21. Beder, Sharon (Summer 1998). "Public Relations' Role in Manufacturing Artificial Grass Roots Coalitions". Public Relations Quarterly. 43 (2): 21–3. Archived from the original on July 18, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  22. Grandia, Kevin (August 26, 2009). "Bonner & Associates: The Long and Undemocratic History of Astroturfing". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  23. Cheng Chen; Kui Wu; Venkatesh Srinivasan; Xudong Zhang (November 18, 2011). "Battling the Internet Water Army: Detection of Hidden Paid Posters". arXiv:1111.4297 [cs.SI].
  24. Monbiot, George (February 24, 2011). "The need to protect the internet from 'astroturfing' grows ever more urgent". The Guardian. London, UK. Archived from the original on February 23, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
  25. Monbiot, George (September 18, 2006). "The denial industry". The Guardian. London. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  26. Plummer, Robert (May 22, 2008). "Will fake business blogs crash and burn?". BBC News. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  27. "Online Journalism Review; August 24, 2004". September 12, 2004. Archived from the original on September 12, 2004. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  28. "Good and bad reviews: The ethical debate over 'astroturfing'". The Guardian. London. January 9, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  29. Friel, Alan (October 2009). "FTC's New Endorsement Guides Call for Policies and Procedures". Wildman Harrold.
  30. "Astroturfing". New Scientist. 193 (2590): 48. 2007. doi:10.1016/s0262-4079(07)60361-3.
  31. Slutsky, Irina (February 24, 2011). "'Organic' SXSW Blogger Buzz? More Like Marketing Astroturf". AdAge. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  32. Roberts, Jeff (April 26, 2012). "The ethics of astro-turfing". PaidContent.org. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  33. Rockefeller, Happy (February 16, 2011). "UPDATED: The HB Gary Email That Should Concern Us All". Daily Kos.
  34. Menn, Joseph; Edmund Sanders (August 23, 2001). "Lobbyists Tied to Microsoft Wrote Citizens' Letters". The LA Times.
  35. "Husin tietojärjestelmän puolustajaa arveltiin keksityksi". September 13, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  36. Ratkiewicz, Jacob; Conover, Michael; Meiss, Mark; Gonçalves, Bruno; Snehal Patil; Alessandro Flammini; Filippo Menczer (2011). "Truthy: mapping the spread of astroturf in microblog streams". Proceedings of the 20th international conference companion on World wide web. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. pp. 249–252. arXiv:1011.3768. doi:10.1145/1963192.1963301. ISBN 978-1-4503-0637-9. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  37. Ratkiewicz, Jacob; Conover, Michael; Meiss, Mark; Gonçalves, Bruno; Alessandro Flammini; Filippo Menczer (November 16, 2010). "Detecting and Tracking the Spread of Astroturf Memes in Microblog Streams". Proceedings of the 20th International Conference Companion on World Wide Web. p. 249. arXiv:1011.3768. doi:10.1145/1963192.1963301. ISBN 9781450306379.
  38. Ratkiewicz, Jacob; Conover, Michael; Meiss, Mark; Gonçalves, Bruno; Snehal Patil; Alessandro Flammini; Filippo Menczer (July 17–21, 2011). "Detecting and Tracking Political Abuse in Social Media" (PDF). Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Weblogs and Social Media. Menlo Park, CA, USA: Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. ISBN 978-1-57735-505-2. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
  39. Fontanella-Khan, James (June 27, 2013). "Astroturfing takes root; Brussels". Financial Times.
  40. Rosemarie Ostler (September 6, 2011). Slinging Mud: Rude Nicknames, Scurrilous Slogans, and Insulting Slang from Two Centuries of American Politics. Penguin. pp. 141–. ISBN 978-1-101-54413-6. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  41. Wade, Alex (January 9, 2011). "Good and bad reviews: The ethical debate over 'astroturfing'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  42. Givel, Michael (2007). "Consent and Counter-Mobilization: The Case of The National Smokers Alliance". Journal of Health Communication. 12 (4): 339–357. doi:10.1080/10810730701326002. ISSN 1081-0730. PMID 17558787.
  43. Menn, Joseph; Sanders, Edmund (August 21, 2001). "Report: Microsoft funded 'grass roots' campaign". Associated Press. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  44. Isaac Protiva (January 31, 2018). Proof that Fidelity Communications is behind the Stop City Funded Internet campaign (Video). Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  45. "Stop City-Funded Internet". Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  46. Einenkel, Walter. "It turns out the Missouri grassroots "Stop City-Funded Internet" movement was a cable monopoly". Daily Kos. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  47. Einenkel, Walter (February 8, 2018). "It turns out the Missouri grassroots 'Stop City-Funded Internet' movement was a cable monopoly". Daily Kos. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  48. Pulizzi, Henry J. (August 5, 2009). "White House Brushes Off Health-Care Protests". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  49. Cook, Nancy (November 26, 2012). "Billionaire Peterson Sounds Alarm on Deficit". National Journal. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  50. Confessore, Nicholas (January 9, 2013). "Public Goals, Private Interests in Debt Campaign". The New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  51. Crabbe, Nathan. "Using other people's words as your own". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  52. Nella Van Dyke; David S. Meyer (February 24, 2016). Understanding the Tea Party Movement. Routledge. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-317-00457-8.
  53. Adam Peck (March 14, 2019). "Republicans don't want to curb anti-Semitism; they want to weaponize it". Think Progress.
  54. Talia Lavin (March 14, 2019), "Why the GOP Isn't Getting the Jewish Vote Anytime Soon", GQ.com, Condé Nast, retrieved March 24, 2019, it’s an operation entirely engineered by conservative flacks, doing its best to masquerade as an authentic grassroots movement.
  55. Jack Holmes (March 12, 2019), Trump's Patrick Moore Tweet Is Fox News Regurgitation at Its Most Dangerous, Esquire, retrieved March 24, 2019
  56. Joshua Davidovich (March 12, 2019), Right of passage: 8 things to know for March 12, The Times of Israel, retrieved March 24, 2019
  57. Greg Turner (January 12, 2013). "Anti-Cape Wind funder blows $19.5M on Osterville estate". Boston Herald. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  58. Tim Doyle (September 21, 2006). "Koch's New Fight". Forbes. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  59. Walter Brooks (May 28, 2013). "The men behind those anti-wind farm ads". Cap Cod Today. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  60. "Kennedys, Kochs help kill planned wind farm off Cape Cod". Fox News. December 4, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  61. Katharine Q. Seelye (December 19, 2017). "After 16 Years, Hopes for Cape Cod Wind Farm Float Away". New York Times. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  62. Lee, Caroline (Winter 2010). "The Roots Of Astroturfing". Contexts. 9: 73–75. doi:10.1525/ctx.2010.9.1.73. ISSN 1536-5042.
  63. Valiante, Giuseppe (June 20, 2014). "Feds weigh in on allegations Russia behind anti-fracking movement | Toronto Sun". Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  64. Linnett, Carol; Gutstein, Donald (July 22, 2015). "'Grassroots' Canada Action Carries Deep Ties to Conservative Party, Oil and Gas Industry". The Narwhal. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  65. "PR firm admits it's behind Wal-Mart blogs". CNN. October 20, 2006. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  66. Stoff, Rick. "Astroturf-Roots Campaign." St. Louis Journalism Review 36)2 (2006): 12-21. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 11 Nov. 2012.
  67. Patrick, Aaron (April 5, 2007). "Ask.Com's 'Revolt' Risks Costly Clicks". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  68. Gross, Grant (August 26, 2010). "FTC settles complaint about fake video game testimonials". Reuters. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  69. "Laitos-lehti: Keksitty henkilö kehuu Husin tietojärjestelmää". TS.fi. September 13, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  70. Brush, Pete (September 23, 2013). "NY 'Astroturfing' Cases Mark Fertile Ground For Civil Suits". Law360. LexisNexis. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  71. "A.G. Schneiderman Announces Agreement With 19 Companies To Stop Writing Fake Online Reviews And Pay More Than $350,000 In Fines". New York State Office of the Attorney General. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  72. "Al Jazeera Investigations – The Lobby P1: Young Friends of Israel". Youtube.com. Al Jazeera. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  73. Anderson, Nate (March 26, 2010). "280,000 pro-China astroturfers are running amok online". Ars Technica. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  74. "Persona Management Software. Solicitation Number: RTB220610". Archived from the original on February 23, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
    "Mirror" (PDF). Washington Post.
  75. Stephen C. Webster (February 22, 2011). "Military's 'persona' software cost millions, used for 'classified social media activities'". The Raw Story. Archived from the original on February 23, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
  76. Darlene Storm (February 22, 2011). "Army of fake social media friends to promote propaganda". Computerworld Inc. Archived from the original on February 24, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
  77. Fielding, Nick; Ian Cobain (March 17, 2011). "Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media". The Guardian. London. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.