Astroturf campaigns
Astroturf campaigns are coordinated public relations operations designed to create the appearance of spontaneous, grassroots public support for a policy, product, or narrative when that support is in fact manufactured, paid, or centrally directed.[citation needed] The term contrasts with genuine grassroots activity and is a recurring mechanism in both corporate disinformation and government disinformation.[citation needed]
Astroturf operations are typically executed through PR firm propaganda contractors and overlap with paid amplification and coordinated inauthentic behavior on social platforms.[citation needed] According to conspiracy theory they are cited as a method by which well-funded actors drown out organic dissent and manufacture apparent consensus around contested claims.
A campaign may be launched in response to an unwanted narrative or whistleblower disclosure, presenting organised criticism as spontaneous grassroots reaction while an interested institutional actor, such as a government agency, a corporate public-affairs team, or an aligned advocacy group, directs and funds it.[citation needed] Its techniques include paid commenting operations, coordinated hashtag campaigns, op-ed placement across multiple outlets, manufactured "expert letters," and amplification of friendly voices through platform partnerships and aligned media partners, and it is often paired with pre-emptive narrative framing.[citation needed] What separates it from organic dissent is its centralised organisation and concealed funding.[citation needed]
See also
- PR firm propaganda
- Coordinated inauthentic behavior
- Manufacturing Consent
- Social-media sentiment shaping
- Censorship-industrial complex