Astroturfing

Conservatives Astroturfing a Brave New World (VIDEO)

Shawn Lawrence Otto | Posted 11.27.2011

The Internet propaganda war is raging and far-ranging. It focuses on creating a revisionist alternative to history and established science, arguing that mainstream history and science is liberally biased.

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Fake Followers and Twitter Astroturf: It's Sorta Social, Demented and Sad, But Social

Celia Alario | Posted 10.09.2011

Read More: Tarsands, Gop Fake Twitter Account, Keystone XL Pipeline, Fake Twitter Accounts, Keystone Pipeline, Astroturf, Astroturfing, Green News

I couldn't help but think of that great line from The Breakfast Club when I read that Big Oil has resorted to creating fake Twitter accounts in order to fabricate an illusion of 'grassroots' support for the controversial Keystone pipeline project.

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Tea Party Diversity Effort Is a Public Relations Scam

David A. Love | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Dick Armey, Van Jones, Jim Demint, Arizona Immigration, Freedomworks, President Obama, Anti-Gay, Christine O'donnell, Arizona, Tea Parties, Civil Rights, Carl Paladino, Astroturfing, Islamophobia, Politics News, Jim Crow, Tea Party Movement, Jan Brewer, Rand Paul, Koch Brothers, Americans for Prosperity, Voting Rights, Ken Buck, Homophobia, Racism, Koch Industries, Arizona Immigration Law, Voter Fraud, Astroturf, Tea Party, Diversity, Politics News

Real diversity means inclusion and tolerance of different viewpoints, backgrounds, orientations and lifestyles, not tokenism. So, if you are a diverse applicant for admission to the Tea Party gang, know what you're dealing with.

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Republican Operative Transforms Into Tea Party Strategist

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Tea Party Express Astroturf, Sal Russo Astroturf, Sal Russo, Tea Party Express, Tea Party, Astroturf, Astroturfing, Politics News

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Tea Party Express is one of the most visible factions of the national movement that has taken on the appearance of a g...

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The Tea Party Is All About Race, Part 2

Bob Cesca | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Obama Racism, Wingnuts, Teabaggers, Tea Party Protests, Rush Limbaugh, Barack Obama Race, Astroturfing, Tea Party Movement, Lee Atwater, Racism, Fox News, Glenn Beck, Tea Party, Southern Strategy, Republican Party, Fox News Channel, Republicans, Politics News

Republicans will readily admit that trying to win over black voters has been a lost cause since LBJ, so why not exploit that loss by playing to white racial bias and thus locking down larger chunks of the white vote?

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The Big Money That Waters The Grassroots

HuffingtonPost.com | Jeff Muskus | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Cpac, Astroturf, Tea Party, CPAC 2010, Conservative Political Action Conference, Astroturfing, Politics News

Hidden back against the far wall of the vast exhibit hall here at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Frank Enten is selling buttons for $5 ...

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Green News Report -- February 11, 2010 (Audio)

Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen | Posted 05.25.2011

TWITTER: @GreenNewsReport IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: ExxonMobil - still funding climate deniers; Haiti - still devastated; Valentine's Day - make it ...

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Bomb Appalachia (and Face the Music)

Michael Gould-Wartofsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Clearcutting, Coal, Center for Public Integrity, West Virginia, Campaign, Coal Industry, Climate, Grassroots, Coal River Mountain, Climate Change, Virginia, Coal Lobby, Mountaintop Removal, Unions, Environmentalism, JP Morgan Chase, American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, Wto, Mother Jones, Labor, Clean Energy, Congress, Green, Global Warming, Government, Mountains, Epa, Harlan County, Mines, Bush Administration, Blair Mountain, Tennessee, Climate Action Partnership, President Obama, Washington, Obama, Coal Czar, Bush, Environment, Environmental Protection Agency, Naacp, Appalachia, Workers, Climate Justice, Office of Surface Mining, Civil Disobedience, Kentucky, Henry Waxman, Forests, Department of the Interior, Dirty Coal, Green Jobs, Wall Street, Astroturfing, Coal Mining, Duke Energy, Green News, Mining, Water, Clean Coal, Osr, Appalachian Mountains, Activism, Protest, Massey Energy, Green News

Theirs is a coast-to-coast campaign to save Appalachia's mountains and streams -- and Appalachians' homes, jobs, and culture -- from the devastating coal mining practice known as mountaintop removal.

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Haiti and the Roots of America's Crazy Fake Populism: Astroturf is Nothing New

Marcella Mroczkowski | Posted 05.25.2011

The political and social development of the American South were radically changed by the Haitian Slave Rebellion -- the only successful slave rebellion in history, and one inspired by the American Revolution.

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Members Of Congress Lobbying Each Other Astroturf-Style

HuffingtonPost.com | Arthur Delaney | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Ethics, Lobbyblog, House Ethics Committee, Astroturf, Astroturfing, Politics News

Democratic members of Congress are lobbying each other Astroturf-style, at least according to an internal House Ethics Committee memo obtained by Wiki...

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In Defense of Michael Pollan and a Civil, More Nuanced Food Debate

Paula Crossfield | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Sustainable Agriculture, Farming, Michael Pollan, Common Reading, Wisconsin, In Defense of Food, Astroturfing, Green News

As a political observer following the shift occurring in our understanding about agriculture, I can't help but be reminded that change does not come p...

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New York Times' Insurance Industry Tearjerker Tries To Change The Subject From Industry Practices

David Dayen | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Insurance Industry, Public Option, Traditional Media, Rationing, Wellpoint, New York Times, Health Care, Humana, Astroturfing, Politics News

The New York Times published a very nice press release from the desk of Humana, one of the nation's largest health insurance companies.

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Majority Of "Energy Citizens" Rallies Organized By Lobbyists

Grist | Kate Sheppard | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Oil Lobbyist Rallies, Energy Citizens Rallies, Energy Citizen, Oil Lobbyist, Oil, Clean Energy, Green Energy, Astroturfing, Transparency, Green News

Here's more evidence that the "Energy Citizens" rallies against climate legislation are anything but grassroots uprisings. We already knew that the A...

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Dear GOP: Watch Your AstroTurf, We're On to You

Kase Wickman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Protests, Gop, Climate Change, Gop Protests, Lobbyists, Republicans, Astroturfing, Climate Change Protests, Republicans Health Care, Gop Health Care, Obama Grassroots, Gop Climate Change, Big Oil, Town Hall Meetings, New England, Sons of Liberty, Politics News

Dissent is essential to democracy, and freedom of speech and the right to assemble are vital and not reserved for one party or the other. The problem is this Republicans: you're doing it wrong.

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The Browning Of Grassroots: Astroturf Taking Over Local Activism

Newsweek | Daniel Stone | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Clinton White House, Grassroots Activism, Healthcare Reform, Death Panels, Astroturfing, President Obama, Politics News

A few weeks ago, seemingly out of the blue, people suddenly began referring to President Obama's proposal to include end-of-life-care assistance into ...

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Congress Should Expose or Outlaw Astroturfers

James Hoggan | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Jim Hoggan, Accce, American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, Bonner and Associates, Climate Change, Environment, Bonner Coal, Bonner Accce, Astroturf, James Hoggan, Global Warming, Astroturfing, Green News

If Bonner's clients are that desperate to have a voice on Capitol Hill, Congress should call a hearing, inquiring into just how much influence is being peddled through phony organizations.

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Texas and New Mexico 'Energy Citizens' Events Are Really "Energy Employees" Rallies

Kevin Grandia | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Bp, Freedomworks, Energy Citizens American Petroleum Institute, Nam, Chevron, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Astroturfing, Green News

The oil industry is paying its employees to go to "Energy Citizen" events, claiming they are grassroots when nothing could be further from the truth. If you live in one of the cities below, show up.

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Comedy Central Saves America with Intelligent Satire

Michael B. Laskoff | Posted 05.25.2011

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert pass themselves off as comedians, but they are really the most influential satirists of the day: they inform and illuminate through ridicule.

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Oil Lobby's 'Energy Citizens' Astroturf Campaign Exposed

Kevin Grandia | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: American Petroleum Institute, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Waxman-Markey, National Association of Manufacturers, Environment, Climate Change, Climate Legislation, Global Warming, Astroturfing, Home News

An internal memo obtained recently by Greenpeace USA details polluting interests' plans to launch a nationwide astroturf campaign attacking climate legislation at public events.

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Four Creative Ways to Deal with Right-Wing Rent-a-Mobs

Bill Mann | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Ed Schultz, Norman Goldman, Town Hall Debate, Fox News, Cnn, Astroturfing, Media News

It's a sorry situation when major TV news operations can't bother to differentiate between citizens with honest questions and mobs of loose cannons coached by various right-wing and corporate outfits.

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CBS Reports On Town Hall Mobs, Ignores Corporate Sponsors

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Video, Health Care Reform, Media Criticism, CBS News, Astroturf, Astroturfing, Eat the Press, Media News

CBS News aired a brief segment Monday night documenting the uptick in publicly demonstrated opposition to health care reform, which has been recently ...

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FreedomWorks Orchestrates 'Grassroots' Movements To Serve Dick Armey's Corporate Clients

thinkprogress.org | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Tea Party Protests, Freedomworks, Tax Protests, Dick Armey, Tea Party, Astroturf, Astroturfing, Politics News

ThinkProgress reported last week that corporate lobbyists are helping to orchestrate the anti-Obama tea party protests. These lobbying-run front group...

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Coal's Sacriligeous Caroling

A. Siegel | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Accce, Truthiness, Clean Coal, Satire, Climate Change, Emissions, Pollution, Coal, Global Warming, Astroturfing, Green News

I was shocked at the latest parody of a set of Christmas Carols courtesy of the coal industry's mouthpiece, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity: the "Clean Coal Carolers" with a set of lyrics that take their truthiness and deception to a whole new level of depravity.

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Will 'Axe' Cut Ties With His 'Secret' Firm?

Howard Wolinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Barack Obama, David Axelrod, Ask, Eric Sedler, Astroturfing, AKP&D Message and Media, Special Interests, Axelrod Special Interests, Chicago News

Taking the A out of AKP&D will help David Axelrod focus on Obama and avoid conflicts. But what about ASK? Never heard of it? ASK Public Strategies is Axelrod's other business.

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David Axelrod: A Tale of Two Firms

Howard Wolinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Michelle Obama, University of Chicago, Barack Obama and David Axelrod, Barack Obama, ASK Chicago, AKP Media, Axelrod, Astroturfing, Chicago Tribune, Chicago News

ASK is known for "Astroturfing," manufacturing grassroots support and using traditional strategies used to elect politicians to promote public policy. ASK draws the line at working for anyone who wants to get elected.

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