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You can prob find a better explanation online, but basically faking a “grass roots” movement using bots or a brigade of users. It’s called such since astroturf
by coufu 3y ago
You can prob find a better explanation online, but basically faking a “grass roots” movement using bots or a brigade of users. It’s called such since astroturf is fake grass.
- qamorgan 3y agoThe term astroturfing predates bots/brigades. It’s used to describe any fake grassroots movement
- ranguna 3y agoSo organising a group of bots to influence a decision?
- westmeal 3y agoPretty much, it doesn't have to be bots it can also be real people astroturfing something to manipulate public opinion.
- i_am_jl 3y agoLess about the technique and more about the optics. Astroturfing is about building the perception of popular support. Bots pretending to be people can be astroturfing, but so can people putting up signs, people writing legislators, writing to newspaper, etc. The idea is to make it look like support for/aversion to something is organic and popular (grassroots) when it's entirely artificial (astroturf)
- _siis 3y agoIn other words, its malign influence and deceit intended for some outcome or goal.
- i_am_jl 3y agoMore specific than that. You could describe blackmail like that. The key characteristic of astroturfing is that it attempts to influence public opinion by presenting a false picture of the current public opinion. It's both of those things together that make something astroturfing.