Astroturfing
"AstroTurf" is the art of getting the public to believe that something is spontaneous and natural when in fact it is orchestrated and designed. Why would this be important? Well, the public is more likely to get behind something when they think it's important to their fellowmen. If something's important to a celebrity, or a big business, or a politician, the public often reacts cynically, that is, they think that the celebrity or business or politician has some secret motive for advertising what they have to say. But if it appears that what's being advertised is being generated and receiving its energy from "the man on the street," it's much more likely to interest and move other "men on the street." AstroTurf is a difficult, subtle art; it's the art of making what's actually very complicated and planned seemed out of the blue; a revelation.
Let's take some examples of AstroTurf and see exactly what it is that astronautics attempts to do.
1. The city council has decided to tear out a local park in order to build a strip mall. The local park isn't that important to the residents of the city; no one uses it much; and the news that it's going to be torn up doesn't generate much of a stir. But let's say that a few local business want to see the park remain - after all, if the strip mall goes in, it could mean a loss of revenue. What do they do? What would AstroTurf be in this case? In this case, AstroTurf might mean that the owners of the local businesses send several seemingly independent letters to the editor of the local newspaper. They might get their friends to do this, so that the letters won't appear to be serving their business interests. The letters say things like: "I can't believe we're tearing up this beautiful, scenic park in order to put something vulgar like a strip mall in its place! What is the world coming to? Where have all our values gone?" etc. etc. In that way, the local business owners have used AstroTurf to stir up anger and controversy with the local public. They hope that when John and Mary read the letters to the editor section, they'll get angry about the strip mall in turn. They hope that John and Mary will then tell Fred and Joe about the strip mall; and that Fred and Joe will tell Sally and Horatio. This is a classic example of AstroTurf.
2. Let's say that the president of the United States want to implement a controversial new policy, and he doesn't have much support for it. How would he (and his public relations people) utilize AstroTurf in order to get the public on their side? They, too, might write letters to the editors of national newspapers that seem to come from regular people who support the president's decision. They might send letters to the White House, letters to other important political figures such as congressmen and senators, which seem to come from the "man on the street." Their point is to make it seem that a large section of the public supports the president, when it fact it doesn't. The public may not know about the president's proposal; it may not care. But if the public suddenly sees a bunch of stories and letters in favor of the president's policy, it may be persuaded to change its mind.
AstroTurf has been used by businesses, politicians, celebrities, and activist groups in order to gain popularity with controversial items and issues. AstroTurf is seen by many people as a negative thing, as it's not exactly straightforward and honest. AstroTurf, after all, is all about the art of appearances. If something appears to be going in a certain direction, more people will follow it than if it's simply standing still. AstroTurf, then, is designed to start a movement with "the people" that may not have gotten the people's attention otherwise, or may have been getting the people's attention in a way not satisfactory to the AstroTurf organizers.
For more information on AstroTurf and other marketing methods, see these great websites:
http://101publicrelations.com/online.html
http://101publicrelations.com/publicity.html
