Defining Astroturfing
Launch library · evergreen read
Astroturfing describes coordinated activity designed to look like genuine, spontaneous public opinion, when it is actually organised behind the scenes. The name plays on the idea of fake grass, opinion manufactured to resemble the real grassroots enthusiasm it is imitating, right down to the specific language used to sound organic.
Online, this often takes the form of multiple accounts posting similar messages in a short window, or reviews and comments that echo each other's specific phrasing too closely to be coincidental. The goal is to create an impression of widespread agreement that does not actually exist organically among any genuine, independent group of people.
Spotting astroturfing usually means looking for unnatural coordination rather than judging the content of the message itself: accounts created around the same time, posting patterns that repeat too precisely, or enthusiasm that feels oddly uniform across supposedly unconnected voices that would otherwise be expected to sound at least somewhat different.