In recent years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of “astroturf” grassroots movements. These are fake grassroots movements, created and funded by special interests, designed to create the appearance of a popular movement for or against a cause.

Astroturf movements aim to sway and manipulate public opinion. The danger of these fake grassroots movements is that they can easily fool the public and trick policymakers into thinking an issue has widespread support when there really isn’t.

A grassroots movement is one in which people, not money, are the basis for driving the direction of the movement. They are movements organized from the ground up, organic, natural, community-based, and participatory. 

Astroturfing is when the source of funding for a movement or an organization is concealed to make it appear as though it has grassroots support and appear as a reflection of the will of the people.

A grassroots movement sets itself apart from other movements that are driven from the top-down. Astroturf movements are driven from the top-down, but take great pains to create the appearance of a natural movement.

Astroturfing is a facade, artificially contrived, and conceals its top-down agenda. 

Why should people beware of astroturf movements? Astroturf movements can be dangerous because they are often created by special interests groups with an agenda that is harmful to the public. 

Astroturfed groups use deceptive tactics to create the appearance of widespread support for their cause, when in reality they may only have a small amount of support. This can lead to bad policy decisions being made based on the false premise that there is broad public support for a particular issue. 

Astroturfed movements can be combated by demanding to know the sources of funding for movements you encounter and demanding transparency.

Photo by Chang Qing from Unsplash