Buried alive

Is astroturfing burying companies and interest groups on the internet? Is using astroturfing ourselves the only way to fight the astroturfers? 

Earlier this year, the technology startup Pixate had an idea: create software that would allow developers to mess around and customise user interfaces on their smartphones. In our techno-world, anyone with a webcam and bright idea can put their pitches out there.

So, Pixate decided to hit up Kickstarter, a crowdfunding platform that allows creators to raise money for their projects by appealing to the masses on the web. The project managed to hit its goal of US$25,000 - throw in a few dollars, all for a good cause, right? Users didn't know that the fundraising had already been given a massive boost from an affiliated corporate sponsor. 

This is astroturfing at its most subtle. It doesn't need a flood of positive comments to look good. It is faceless and speechless. Seeing that there has already been thousands of dollars worth of support gives you a bit of confidence in the project. Like how buskers leave some loose cash in their guitar case so you don't feel odd dropping the first coin in.

Astroturfing has become the ultimate evil: lying to make yourself look good when in reality you're probably pretty awful. But astroturfing has become a reality. A technique rather than a taboo. Our investigation aims to give people a guide to catching astroturfers out. Technology like persona management software and bots make the onslaught of astroturfers endless. Perhaps the only way to fight back is with our own bots?

George Monbiot, blogger for The Guardian Online stresses that we have to fight astroturfing. It's an enemy infecting the chat forums, Facebook pages, and comment threads of all legitimate companies. According to him, astroturfing has become a matter of bipolar ethics: good versus evil.

Is it a necessary evil? Or, will the moral panic die down? In the near years, we might see astroturfing as just another obvious PR tactic. Like the balloon-headed photos of politicians on posters, or the Labor Party onslaught on the front page spreads of the Telegraph or Australian.

Let's look back to the roots of PR and advertising. During World War I, US President Woodrow Wilson sent out a team of what he called 'Four Minute Men'. The group of suited men would get up between the four-minute reel changes at the cinemas and give a spiel hailing the PotUS and the country's war efforts.

The 'Four Minute Men' give a speech to the American public

Was this PR effort a good or an evil? Or was it simply something the President's PR team had to do to get their message out? We've got the internet now, so maybe we're a bit more skeptical - a shady group of men sitting in front of hundreds of flickering computer screens, slapping away at keyboards overnight, churning out fake Facebook profiles and floods of tweets. If the astroturfers got up in front of us with suits and moustaches, maybe we might just believe what they were saying.