Astroturfing

“There is no front because there is total transparency.” --- Prominent public relations operator, Richard Berman publicly stating that he does not set up organizations that are fronts for unnamed special interests posing as real people or groups to advance their own hidden political or economic agendas based on lies, deceit or fake public support

“People always ask me one question all the time: How do I know that I won't be found out as a supporter of what you are doing? We run all our stuff through nonprofit organizations that are insulated from having to disclose donors. There is total anonymity.” --- Prominent public relations operator, Richard Berman privately promising oil industry executives, potential paying clients of his PR firm, that their identities and agendas are never made public

“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.”

On his Last Week Tonight show a couple weeks ago, John Oliver aired a segment on astroturfing. The practice is everywhere in public life. All kinds of special interests pay to generate lies, deceit and fake public support for various causes, all of which is intended to deceive the public and governments about the real agenda and its financial backers. In some cases, experts are hired to just make things up in testimony before legislatures so that proposed legislation can be supported or opposed by economic or political interests who want to remain anonymous.



In addition to Berman’s wonderfully opaque comments above, Oliver commented that companies hire people, often for roughly $50-$200, to show up at public meetings, demonstrations and so forth to express their support or opposition for whatever they are paid to support or oppose. In one case, the paid shills received the following instructions:
1. Tell nobody you are being paid
2. Tell nobody you are being paid
3. Media will be present, do not talk to them
4. Tell nobody you are being paid
5. If someone approaches you, don't tell them you are being paid

The CEO of one company, Crowds on Demand, stated the shills his company hires do not trick people, but instead ‘engages’ them. In response to that, Oliver commented that Crowds on Demand engages people by tricking them.

Oliver’s point was to argue that this kind of activity is toxic and fosters cynicism, but it cannot be stopped. Oliver’s segment raised a couple of points. First, companies that engage in astroturfing do not care about truth or anything other than their own economic or political interests. Second, the businesses that cater to astroturfers do not care about truth or anything other than their own economic interests. Third, the people who participate as astroturfers do not care about truth or anything other than their own economic interests.

Is astroturfing and/or the people and businesses involved moral, immoral or amoral, or is astroturfing irrelevant to morality? It certainly isn't illegal because astroturfing is a legal commercial activity and the speech (lies, deceit, fake public support, opacity) involved is protected free speech.

One final observation: It is odd that one can often find out more about exactly how politics works by watching comedians skewer it than by listening to traditional information sources. There is no obvious reason to distrust any of the factual content that Oliver used. At least for this topic, he arguably is more trustworthy than most politicians and far more trustworthy than anyone or any business involved in astroturfing.

B&B orig: 8/21/18