What the Hell is... Astroturfing?

Astroturfing refers to misrepresentation in the world of the web - a coordinated, but covert, public relations effort masquerading as an independent grassroots campaign in the hopes of influencing opinion.

The word "Astroturfing" is a play on the artificial, slick surface first used in the Houston Astrodome. It is used to suggest that an alleged grassroots campaign cited by a corporation is fake or pretending to be natural.

In today's world of savvy consumers and watchdog groups, companies that try to hide their true intentions are being uncovered via programs like WikiScanner, which looks to see if corporations have edited their own Wikipedia entries. And so, just as athletes succumb to the hardness of Astroturf, those organizations that employ the strategy of Astroturfing are bound to have their reputations damaged.

Examples of Astroturf accusations in recent months include a campaign for clean coal and alleged Microsoft participation in dialogue on the web.

Origin

Astroturf is a synthetic field surface invented by Monsanto in 1967, nicknamed for its original use in the Houston Astrodome. U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen is credited with co-opting the term to refer to a public relations campaign.