<html><body><div style="direction: ltr; font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I learned a new word today. I thought it worth sharing with this community. </div><div style="direction: ltr; font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br></div><div style="direction: ltr; font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Cheers,</div><div style="direction: ltr; font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Ben</div><div class="NX85qc" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; margin: 0px; font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 28px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: 600;"><br></span></div><div class="NX85qc" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; margin: 0px; font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 28px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: 600;">astroturfing</span></div><div class="ohUzqc" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; margin: 0px; font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">/ˈastrəʊtəːfɪŋ/</div><div class="n6owBd awi2gc" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; margin: 12px 0px 16px; font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Astroturfing is the deceptive practice of creating a false impression of widespread, spontaneous grassroots support for a product, cause, or politician. The term is a play on words—a combination of "grassroots" and "AstroTurf" (the brand name for artificial grass)—meaning the public support being displayed is entirely fake.[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing" data-outlook-id="c5608178-f12e-4635-b66a-634e25098d28">1</a>, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astroturfing" data-outlook-id="77e5ba35-1235-4bc3-9f88-69dadd914ebc">2</a>, <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/astroturfing" data-outlook-id="95011546-da34-431b-aa42-0d8093b7d750">3</a>]</div><div class="otQkpb" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; margin: 24px 0px 12px; font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: 600;">Key Subtopics</span></div><div class="AdPoic" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; margin: 24px 0px 12px; font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: 700;">1. Common Tactics</span></div><div class="n6owBd awi2gc" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; margin: 12px 0px 16px; font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Astroturfers manipulate public opinion through several orchestrated methods, including: [<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bYAQ-ZZtEU&t=110" data-outlook-id="cc0d7618-c709-4d27-969e-a82ada0f9483">1</a>]</div><ul data-sfc-root="ep" data-sfc-cb="" data-ved="2ahUKEwjg88D05NmVAxUR-AIHHdYgPLEQ-7AUegoIAggACAAIAhAQ" data-hveid="CAIIAAgACAIQEA" data-copy-service-computed-style="font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);" style="text-align: left; margin: 12px 0px 16px;"><li style="font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: none;" role="presentation">Social Media Bots & Trolls:</span><span style="text-transform: none;" role="presentation"> Using automated scripts or paid individuals to flood comment sections, forums (e.g., Reddit), and X (formerly Twitter) with thousands of identical or coordinated messages. [<a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-96-3942-7_40" data-outlook-id="29a8a6c0-70dc-4e0d-8dd9-b91673d8ca1e">1</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9Yq6N_ir3o&t=23" data-outlook-id="8aff0750-a416-4882-98c5-d79de1ca83e0">2</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOWyGbxNAts&t=16" data-outlook-id="68ab7bde-34c5-4cf4-93cd-67ff676f2faf">3</a>]</span></li><li style="font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: none;" role="presentation">Fake Reviews:</span><span style="text-transform: none;" role="presentation"> Brands paying for or generating hundreds of 5-star reviews on platforms like Google Maps or Amazon to make a product or business seem highly popular and trustworthy. [<a href="https://www.bigcommerce.com/glossary/astroturfing/" data-outlook-id="9d4855ac-adc7-4429-abab-cd7947a88c9a">1</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNPQYGqJ0lk&t=1" data-outlook-id="97845b0e-7e62-4980-a482-82a4016d7173">2</a>]</span></li><li style="font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: none;" role="presentation">Front Groups:</span><span style="text-transform: none;" role="presentation"> Concealed corporate or political interests setting up and funding seemingly independent non-profits or community organizations to advocate for their agendas. [<a href="https://www.tobaccotactics.org/article/astroturfing/" data-outlook-id="95e17fc4-cf35-4fc2-8fb1-e69f3eaa292c">1</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing" data-outlook-id="b67668e7-d8fd-42c8-9c46-1c45ba881669">2</a>]</span></li><li style="font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: none;" role="presentation">Manufactured Testimonials:</span><span style="text-transform: none;" role="presentation"> Hiring actors or employing operatives to write letters to local newspapers, call into talk radio shows, or stage protests pretending to be "concerned locals". [<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/feb/08/what-is-astroturfing" data-outlook-id="491b7b27-9181-453e-99b2-74626e5db489">1</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNPQYGqJ0lk&t=1" data-outlook-id="6a2c3ba7-4563-462c-aae1-00520b5aec4b">2</a>]</span></li></ul><div class="AdPoic" style="margin: 24px 0px 12px; font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: none;">2. Why It's Used</span></div><div class="n6owBd awi2gc" style="margin: 12px 0px 16px; font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-transform: none;">Organizations, political campaigns, and special interest groups utilize astroturfing to:</span></div><ul data-sfc-root="ep" data-sfc-cb="" data-ved="2ahUKEwjg88D05NmVAxUR-AIHHdYgPLEQ-7AUegoIAggACAAIHhAH" data-hveid="CAIIAAgACB4QBw" data-copy-service-computed-style="font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);" style="margin: 12px 0px 16px;"><li style="font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: none;" role="presentation">Shape Public Consensus:</span><span style="text-transform: none;" role="presentation"> Because humans are highly influenced by the opinions of their peers, astroturfers aim to make individuals feel like outliers for holding a certain view, pressuring them to adopt the artificial consensus. [<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bYAQ-ZZtEU&t=110" data-outlook-id="ab500eba-ad78-49e2-8d19-0dbb91df6f6b">1</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9Yq6N_ir3o&t=23" data-outlook-id="de32f960-1029-4642-aafc-e45937118ad5">2</a>]</span></li><li style="font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: none;" role="presentation">Hide Corporate Ties:</span><span style="text-transform: none;" role="presentation"> Disguising the true sponsor of a campaign allows companies or lobbying groups to gain public trust that they would not receive if they were transparent about their financial backing. [<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing" data-outlook-id="abb15bb2-4a63-4d22-81ff-3d4ba499ef62">1</a>]</span></li><li style="font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 0px 12px;"><span style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: none;" role="presentation">Promote or Protect Interests:</span><span style="text-transform: none;" role="presentation"> Corporations may use it to downplay product safety scandals or smear whistleblowers and journalists. [<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bYAQ-ZZtEU&t=110" data-outlook-id="bbaff852-5832-4cbe-8a54-b3f50825ff1b">1</a>]</span></li></ul><div class="AdPoic" style="margin: 24px 0px 12px; font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: none;">3. Origins of the Term</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-family: "Google Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-transform: none;">The term was coined in the 1980s by United States Senator Lloyd Bentsen. He used it to describe heavily funded corporate efforts that were sending thousands of artificial, pre-written letters to Congress to create the illusion of intense constituent pressure. [<a href="https://courses.lumenlearning.com/snhu-cfacontrolthemessage/chapter/astro-turfing/" data-outlook-id="6145f091-9782-4135-bc9a-8f696be6a5b6">1</a>, <a href="https://dissentmagazine.org/article/hired-guns-on-astroturfhow-to-buy-and-sell-school-reform/" data-outlook-id="8326ba92-31e4-4da0-8fd1-8607ce660d66">2</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/feb/08/what-is-astroturfing" data-outlook-id="f2ff3bb6-b773-4bcc-b852-3ab3209652eb">3</a>]</span></div><div style="direction: ltr; font-family: Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br></div></body></html>