astroturfing

In American politics and advertising, the expression astroturfing is used pejoratively to describe formal public relations projects which deliberately seek to engineer the impression of spontaneous public reactions to a politician or political grouping, product, service, event, etc. by many diverse and distributed individuals acting of their own volition. The term is wordplay based on "grassroots" efforts, which are truly spontaneous undertakings. A "grassroots" action or campaign is one that is started spontaneously and is largely sustained by private persons, not politicians, government, corporations, or public relations firms. AstroTurf refers to the bright green artificial grass used in some sports stadiums. Astroturfing is carefully designed to appear as though it is the result of popular feeling, rather than a coordinated campaign, perhaps by spin doctors, or through a front organization. Examples of these kinds of practices can be found throughout recent political history, though it could be argued that the use of astroturfing is becoming more prevalent with the declining credibility of politicians, government bodies and corporations. Some might suggest that the campaigning techniques of certain non-governmental organizations also embrace aspects of astroturfing. Because, in an ostensibly democratic society, most successful political movements involve the exercise of existing power to achieve widespread public consent (and hence legitimacy), observers may disagree on the line between acceptable support of grassroots activism and astroturfing.

Techniques

One technique is to induce a number of supporters to write email, letters to the editor, blog posts, crossposts and trackbacks, in favor of the campaign's goals. The campaign typically instructs the supporters on what to say, how to say it, where to send it, and, above all, how to make it appear that their indignation, appreciation, joy, or hate is entirely spontaneous and independent – and thus "real" – rather than the product of an orchestrated campaign. Sometimes, pre-written letters to the editor are distributed for submission to local newspapers, as their theoretically limited circulation makes it unlikely that anyone will notice the same letter appearing in many publications simultaneously, although with the advent of news consolidation services such as Google News, it has become much easier to spot such campaigns. With the advent of the Internet, it has become easier to structure an astroturfing campaign, because the cost and effort to email (especially a pre-written, sign-your-name-at-the-bottom email) is so low. The pseudonymity of the Internet can be misused to enable one person to play the role of a whole group of like-minded people (see also sock puppet). At the same time, contact through the Internet may aid those wishing to expose an astroturfing campaign.

Examples

One such case was documented by the web log DailyKos on August 17, 2004 http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/8/17/17029/2550, when roughly 60 newspapers carried the following template letter text from the GeorgeWBush.com site http://www.georgewbush.com/Economy/WriteNewspapers.aspx?AgendaID=2, though they each appeared to be separate letters to the editor from different individuals.

"New job figures and other recent economic data show that America's economy is strong and getting stronger - and that the President's jobs and growth plan is working. The Labor Department announced that employers added 288,000 new jobs in April. In total, over 1.1 million jobs have been added since August, with 8 consecutive months of gains."

In another case, documented in All the President's Men, the Committee to Re-Elect the President orchestrated several campaigns of "public support" for decisions made by President Nixon in the period preceding the 1972 election, including telegrams to the White House and an apparently independent advertisement placed in the New York Times

Fictional examples

Government astroturfing, as well as other sneaky tricks, are depicted in the film Wag the Dog. Although fiction, the film dissects the process of astroturfing in fine detail. Obviously, these techniques are usually cloaked in secrecy. In one sequence, spin doctors desire to create the illusion that broad public support exists for a kidnapped war hero (who is actually a nondescript safe in military prison). Two contemporary musicians are hired to record a song in the idiom of turn-of-the-century acoustic Delta blues, as was archived definitively by Alan Lomax. The modern studio recording is artificially degraded with surface noise, scratches, and hiss; and a single 78 RPM vinyl record is pressed with a faded, worn paper label. The fake is inserted into an authentic old blank paper sleeve, and infiltrated into the Library of Congress' audio collection. Once there, the song (whose lyrics appear to make reference to the name of the "kidnapped war hero"), is "discovered" and released to radio stations across America, who are encouraged to air the song: scratches, pops, clicks, and all. This "historical" song provides the theme for an astroturfed wave of mass support for the "hero".

Historical

At the turn of the 20th century, it was common to have newspapers in major American cities sponsored by local political parties. Some were open about this practice, but many of these relationships were hidden under the guise of journalism. Other examples include political "clubs" which front for voter fraud and intimidation, letter-writing campaigns organized by local ward bosses, and some union-organized political activities. A similar manipulation of public opinion was used in the Soviet Union when political decisions were preceded by massive campaigns of orchestrated 'letters from workers' (pisma trudyashchisya) which were quoted and published in newspapers and radio.

Astroturfing

Techniques

Examples

Fictional examples

Historical

See also

Further Reading