Our website

Our final feature, which began with this blog, is now live here at Always Greener.

Astroturfing in China

A great short segment from ABC’s Hungry Beast about the Chinese Communist Party’s astroturfing policy…

Surfing for Astroturfing

Social media strategy

@astrosurfnturf 

Aim:

To initiate, in a somewhat ironic sense, our own grass-roots community that is ‘astroturf savvy’ via twitter. Our twitter account aims to engage the audience of our feature website by inviting them to participate in spotting astroturfing online. The group will draw attention to suspected cases of astroturfing on the web regarding politics, consumer products and social movments by linking to them and using the #astroturfing and #gotcha hashtags. In doing so, we hope to create an online community of anti-astroturfers that will cooperatively work to enhance their collective web literacy. The account will also lead back to our website’s astroturfing gallery which will break down the reasons that we might suspect astroturfing in this case.

Why Twitter?:

We believe that Twitter is the most appropriate platform from which to build this community as it allows anyone to join the conversation and is able to simply link back to our feature website if an audience member would like further information on the topic.

Methods:

o   Follow appropriate commentators, media outlets and consumer groups

o   Retweet and comment on others’ suspicions

o   Direct people to the upcoming feature website/blog

o   Tweet our own discoveries of online astroturfing

o   Tweet updates about the development of the site

o   Direct message commentators for input

o   Use of #astroturfing and #gotcha as a gathering point for the community

o   Ask the opinions of relevant consumer groups if an instance occurs during the campaign

Planning:

The aims of our social media campaign and the demand for timeliness in our news values means that tweets and retweets cannot be specifically planned. It is the role of Marnie, Andrew and Stephanie to surf the web as well as monitor the #astroturfing hashtag in order to pick up on relevant events or commentary. This includes articles in the media in which we can tweet questions to a journalist as well as ask for the opinion of an organisation that might be negatively being astroturfed. The rest of the group will also have a less pivotal role in tweeting any relevant material that they might come across during their research.

KPIs:

o   Three #astroturfing or #gotcha tweets per week

o   Two retweets or comments on stories per week regarding #astroturfing

o   Accrue 50 followers to form our own online spotting community

o   4-5 user contributions to the twitter community by the time the website is up and running.

Conclusion:

A write-up of the campaign will document our level of success and will be part of the feature website on its launch day. The Twitter feed will also be a part of the main website in order to direct our audience to a platform where they can become involved.

We are aware of some of the potential risks of our approach, as some companies might see the campaign as a witch-hunt. However, we would defend against this by linking back to our feature website so that we might defend our suspicions with more detail using some of the research we have conducted on reasons one might suspect a case of astroturfing. 

Laying the astroturf

Now that I'm at my final blog, it sure is getting more difficult to come up with new puns and takes on the word 'astroturf' for blog titles.

One of the major difficulties I am facing is how to write a longer form article on astroturfing that touches on all the elements we have discovered about it. We need to place astroturfing inside a Web 2.0 context: issues of authenticity online as well as Lessing's culture of sharing. We also need to explore it's relevance to the field of PR: While some suggest it is just part and parcel of tactical PR, others suggest it is entirely unethical. Finally we need concrete examples, and most importantly, an interview or two with people who have astroturfed. 

Geoffrey Emerson from agency The Prosperty Principle offers a service called Trusted Avatar.

He's also the man who was interviewed on ABC Radio National, and will be the first person we approach to contact for a more positive perspective on astroturfing. 

Finally, the feedback from our presentation was to determine exactly who would host our web feature.

I feel that Mumbrella is the most appropriate platform. As I discussed last week, it has a history of catching out astroturfers in its comments. It's style is democratic and accessible, yet the audience is largely media literate. This would also improve our social media interactions through gaining exposure for the project.

One other suggestion was Triple J Hack. However, since they are mostly radio-based, I feel that the astroturfing topic won't translate as well online without evidence and the ability to link directly to other web pages. I'd like to aim for the tone of Crikey and UTS's joint project, Spinning the Media. This project is hosted by Crikey and is entirely self contained. It includes longer form articles, key interviews and findings from investigative research. These three content approaches position Spinning the Media as a useful project upon which we can base our project

In Defence of Astroturfing

Major Hollywood studios have concocted astroturfing campaigns to protect their interests.  CBS, NBC, FOX and Warner Bros. were just some of the studios behind the “CreativeAmerica” astroturf campaign. Universal Music Group created a faux- grassroots campaign called “MusicRightsNow”. The main purpose of both of these was to create support for the passing of the PROTECT IP censorship bill.  

TechDirt puts forward a particularly persuasive argument on the laziness and laughability of these campaigns. But there are two sides to every story. Such companies are losing huge amounts of revenue due to the subversive activities of the general public. Hollywood corporations have started to fight fire with fire. 

TechDirt argues that there is more music than ever. No one can disagree with the fact that the internet is a huge platform for emerging artists. But I know that I’ve spent less money on music and movies since I’ve had access to broadband. I suspect you’re the same. We're consuming more entertainment than ever, but we're paying almost nothing for it.

Justin talked about the 'Four Minute Men' in his blog post. You can liken astroturfing to a virtual version of Brand Power.

"Under the guise of being an independent body, they take cash from brands and ad agencies and produce  infomercials but pretend to be “editorial” (i.e. not associated with the brand, and are there to empower consumers through customer advocacy)."

Good astroturfing, like cash for comment and product placement, requires an attuned eye to be able spot. If you have enough web literacy  to download a movie illegally online, do you deserve to be subjected to astroturfing by the film companies you exploit?

I don’t think so, but it’s good to get into that headspace, and consider alternative attitudes towards astroturfing. Are there times when it can justified?

Astroturfing: Strategic or Tactical Media?

A study of Graham Meikle’s required reading “Turning Signs into Question Marks” offers up some some interesting ideas in relation to our web feature on astroturfing.

Miekle draws distinctions between strategic media and tactical media. The former, he asserts is “about exploiting place- a business, for instance, that defines its territory and then uses this as the basis for its relations with its customers, works from the privileging of a place over time. It’s about claiming turf and expanding it, and about using this to create and shape relations with others” (119).

It is easy to see the way in which astroturfing fits as strategic media. A large proportion of astroturfing is business simply seeking to expand its turf. However, the means in which that turf is claimed has parallels with Miekle’s definition of tactical media.

“Tactical media,” writes Miekle, “is about mobility and flexibility, about diverse responses to changing contexts” (119). “A tactic exploits time- a moment of opportunity and possibility made possible as cracks appear in the evolution of strategic place” (121).

Astroturfing is a subversive practice, as is much tactical media. However, Miekle asserts in his reading that tactical media is largely created by those outside the circle of mainstream power. The political parties and commercial enterprises engaged in astroturfing that we have come across in our research are definitely not powerless (the US government, anyone?) Miekle also argues that profit is not the primary motive of a lot of tactical media. Again this is a contrast with astroturfing, which has money on its mind. 

So then, is astroturfing strategic or tactical media? Perhaps it exists in a new space between both concepts. Interestingly, the powerful who astroturf have had to engage in the practices of the powerless. Such is the democratic nature of the internet.

Miekle’s reading, written in 2002, shows its age. This serves to reflect the transient nature of web theory. However, applying our readings to astroturfing gives us a more theoretical framework; it shows us the nuance of internet practices and helps give us a detailed context as we undertake our web feature.

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. 

This Project Matters. And I'll Astroturf This Post To Prove It.

As our feature begins to form, I often find that remembering the purpose behind the project often gives it direction.  Why does this project matter? Why is it important that we target internet users?

To explain, allow me to provide some facts about the Internet’s more popular websites. In doing so, I’ll highlight the ease at which astroturfing can occur on user generated websites.

Firstly, Amazon. The world’s largest online retailer. Amazon is website where users can review or recommend products for purchase, and is ultimately very susceptible to the practices of astroturfing. Amazon’s own review guidelines state that users do not need to have purchased a product to review it. If I were an author trying to flog my book, what’s stopping me from engaging in a little astroturfing?

According to Amazon’s own review guidelines; nothing. Provided I don’t swear, of course.

Secondly, TripAdvisor. Having reportedly been used by over 100 million people, it is the world’s largest social travel network.  A website that enables travelers to both learn and recommend what’s hot and what’s not. But how objective are these recommendations? As The Guardian journalist Sean Dodson explains, anyone is completely free to say anything about practically any hotel in the world. If I were an innkeeper trying to flog my hotel, what’s stopping me from engaging in a little astroturfing?

According to TripAdvisor; nothing. Provided I go about it in a subtle manner, my multiple fake profiles do not need to prove they have in fact visited the place they are reviewing. 

TripAdvisor has over 50 million reviews. Over 10 million of those are reportedly fake.  



Thirdly, social media like Facebook and Twitter. Combined, the two websites have more than one billion users. With such a massive audience; companies, products and causes have sought to use social media to leverage their brand.  What better way to leverage your brand then to literally purchase Twitter followers and Facebook fans? Websites like Real Fans Buy offer companies affordable ways to generate online support through deceitful means. If I were a political candidate trying to flog my campaign, what’s stopping me from engaging in a little astroturfing?

According to the policies of Facebook and Twitter, nothing. Purchasing and falsifying support is a growing and legal business.

And lastly, Blogger.  As I’ve written in a previous post, the ability for people to comment on internet news articles should be an exercise in democracy and free speech. But when an agenda and astroturfing comes into the equation, it’s unfortunately a different story. If I were a University of Sydney student trying to prove the worth of my argument on Blogger, what’s stopping me from engaging in a little astroturfing?

See for yourself below.

For a fiverr, I'll persona manage you!

 “Thank you very much for this informative post,” the spambot says. “It has been very beneficial to my study of glow worms.” Fantastic, you say, but my piece was on a recent media scandal, not fluorescent grubs.

Obviously, this kind of post is easy to spot. Even in heated conversations in comment sections it’s easy to spot a troll. Astroturfing, however, is sneakier. It’s as pervasive and needy as spam, and as infuriating as a troll.

On the spectrum of spam to troll, the astroturfer sits closer to the spam bot, and a lot of that is owing to the fact that astroturfing has more to do with pretending to be a real poster than pretending to have a real agenda.  

Astroturfing is more intelligent, more strategic, and more authentic looking than any other kind of spam and therefore much more likely to convince regular contributors, or as HappyRockefeller from the Daily Kos says, ‘give the illusion of consensus’, which is a dangerous thing in the democratic online society we’re pleased as punch to inhabit. 

So how do we know who’s authentic, and who’s the vehicle of a PR strategy? There are plenty of tips available on the internet for spotting astroturfers which mainly look at the credible infrastructure associated with online identities, such as IP address, a website history, and other postings.

The practice of maintaining these inauthentic screennames is called Persona Management. It’s is interesting because it brings the robot and the real together. Software algorithms are responsible for maintaining an authentic looking online personality. A company that has erupted out of nowhere, or a blogger commenting on a post with no prior activity is bound to be suspicious, but a person with a history of engagement with a topic appears a little more credible. By creating all of the ‘online furniture’, as dmdyslin says, it results in no one suspecting ‘that they came onto the scene for the first time a moment ago for the sole purpose of attacking an article’.

Up to 10 “pre-aged” accounts are created at once, and are then supported by a series of flexible and static IP addresses which stop websites recognising the fake users, but then add legitimacy to their account over time so that it recognises the same user posting after the initial flood of activity.

So how are you supposed to figure out what’s fake when all signals point to authenticity?

It is possible to figure out whether multiple entries are from the same user. Thisis a useful site that blogger Sandi Keane suggests an alternate way to spotting astroturfing. She examines the semantics of the language used by the posters, noting several keywords like ‘incorporated’ and different phrases that hail nationalists, that ‘follow a pattern in the way they manipulate triggers in the mind to evoke a psychological response.’

Hailing the individual is much more of an active marketing approach, and sometimes the effort to promote a product or agenda is much more noticeable. Persona Management is one of the smoother astroturfing tactics. There are some interestingstories of people being caught out by using their personal accounts, which were tracked back to their company – the competitor of the company they were astroturfing.

I did find, in my hunt for information on how to spot astroturfing, a <a href=" http://astroturfingevidence.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow">suspicious looking blog</a>. On this suspicious looking blog was one blog post, no user information, no other posts and no activity log. This blog had been created for the purpose of ‘outing’ a website <a href="www.fiverr.com">Fiverr</a>. Fiverr is a website run to connect businesses with individuals who will ‘support’ them, all for $5 US. The author of the blog was definitely on to something:

<blockquote> I could tell from the guys eyes and his body language that what he was saying was a complete lie. Then something clicked – I remembered a site I was surfing on a few weeks back, where people would do almost anything for five dollars and I had seen a few advertisments about people making testimonial videos – I  went to the site www.fiverr.com and searched for ‘video testimonial’ – I found the guy who made the video in an instant !

http://fiverr.com/russellwilliams/provide-a-video-testimonial-for-your-product-or-service

You can see the original video as above – or heres my copy below just incase the original gets removed because we are onto him.</blockquote>

But the blog itself is incredibly suspicious, almost as if it was created simply for promoting Fiverr.com. Hmm. On the spam – troll spectrum, this Wordpress and Fiverr sit way over on the canned-ham end.

When it comes to astroturfing yourself, you might want to consider what methods you use, as we will when the website is created. You could choose to stick with Social Media Management or Search Engine Optimisation, but be aware there are other options out there.

Similarly, when it comes to dealing with the comments posted on your site, be aware that some of them still may not be real individuals. You should always keep in mind that users on the internet may not be who they say they are, but when it comes to this stuff – well, they might not even be human. 

Persona management - are you for real?

It sounds like something out of 1999’s Watchowski brothers’ film The Matrix. This being the utilisation of software programs to create credible personas to walk among us and have outspoken opinions that might persuade us into believing that this is widespread in our online, ‘plugged in’ reality.

Computer programs called 'agents' from The Matrix

In 2012, George Monbiot says that the use of persona management software is a common tool used by companies, lobby groups and politicians involved in online astroturfing.  You can read more about how this software actually works here. 

Whilst the concept of a rent-a-crowd in PR and marketing is not a new one, our online performances of everyday activities such as simple information gathering to household purchases makes this practice more intrusive. Persona management software programs have been developed to leave a digital footprint of an online life and they help in further blurring the distinction between the real and the unreal online. No wonder media panics regarding authenticity and the web continue with plenty of fuel. (This includes headlines such as this!) 

Our group is in the early stages of investigation of this topic and it presents a myriad of salient issues regarding the difficulty in ascertaining authenticity online, which I believe is the key anxiety underlying the practice of astroturfing.

One of the proposed activities I am particularly excited about is our own ‘astroturf yourself’ campaign, in which we might conduct our own tongue-in-cheek demonstration of how easy it is to fake a grass roots support of any idea or product in order to draw attention to its prevalence online. Our social media strategy, which will be the second part of my blog next week, will also seek to engage our readers in spotting astroturfing online and hopefully might result in an anti-astroturfing community.

The astroturfed lawns of Parliament House

Last week I discussed astroturfing in my micro environment - how online user reviews of products and places risk skewing my opinions, and thus where I spend my hard earned cash. I think this line of inquiry is highly relevant to our target audience of high-frequency web users, who rely on these websites for information. Neilsen reveals that 70% of Australians trust online reviews - more so than advertising or even editorial newspaper content. 

However I am also interested in broadening the scope of our project to think about astroturfing in a political context. This is especially relevant considering the 2013 Australian Federal election, and most significantly the 2012 US Presidential election.

Truthy is an investigative website run by the Indiana University Center for Complex Networks & Systems Research. The team at truthy use social media data mining to identify malpractice in social media. 

One example is that they found the Twitter account @PeaceKaren_25 had generated more than 10,000 tweets in a few months. They found that another account, @HopeMarie_25, was created 10 minutes later. This account simply retweeted all tweets from @PeaceKaren_25 while producing no original tweets of its own. 

Almost all of the 20,000-odd tweets from the two accounts support Republican candidates, especially US House GOP leader John Boehner. 

This kind of systematic political astroturfing would be difficult to seek out without the complex software that Truthy have at their disposal. However it is an important decision for this project, as it removes it entirely from the commercial sphere into a more murky politcal one.

Lawyer Matthew Hall told ABC Radio national that astroturfing for commercial gain is illegal. However, outside of this, there is no legislation against political astroturfing, however much it may be frowned upon. Astroturfing is one of the murky grey areas inside social media and the law. 

Taki Oldham took on political astroturfing in his 2010 documentary Astroturf Wars. Though Oldham focuses on real-life astroturfing, a lot of the same principles apply to online propaganda. 

Finally, Mumbrella, an Australian media and marketing news and comment website, has a long history of associations with finding and commenting on astroturfing. Tim Burrowes, their Editor-in-Chief, would make an excellent interview for our piece. It is interesting that people attempt to astroturf in their comments, and the other commenters and administrators are always quick to pick it up. Have a read through these comments on a Liberal Party 'Staycation' promotional video. Tim Burrowes quickly picks up the same IP addresses from multiple commenters defending the video. 

Tim's response is greeted gleefully by commenters. I think that being caught astroturfing is worse PR than not doing it in the first place. Political astroturfing is going to muddy the waters a little bit - because people are often much more passionate about political issues and ideas than they are about products. Who's to know if someone who is commenting positively on a controversial issue is astroturfing or simply passionate about the issue? 

I think that as our project develops, we'll come across more examples. I think a gallery of screenshots of suspected astroturfing could be an interesting - and sometimes humerous - web resource.