TLDR; #

From Wikipedia ^[1]:

Astroturfing is the practice of hiding 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 backers. The term astroturfing is derived from AstroTurf, a brand of synthetic carpeting designed to resemble natural grass, as a play on the word "grassroots". The implication behind the use of the term is that instead of a "true" or "natural" grassroots effort behind the activity in question, there is a "fake" or "artificial" appearance of support.

Astroturfing #

It's a pretty new term to me so when I heard about it in a podcast^[2] I realised that more people should get familiar with it. Even if you heard about it then it's worth going though the whole wikipedia page^[1:1] as its really comprehensive.

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