Astroturfing is an interesting phenomenon. It is the practice whereby monied interests veil their sponsorship of an interest group in an effort to present it as the product of grassroots activism. So named for the nation’s favorite plastic grass-substitute, and much like that petroleum-based pasture it feigns the existence of grass roots with naught beneath but artificial support.
This practice seems sketchy at the best of times. Some defend it by claiming that it allows them to present their message free of any prejudice that may be attached to their reputation. While I can respect the desire to have one’s argument evaluated purely on its intellectual merits I can’t help but look at cases like the one I've linked to above and levy a certain degree of suspicion. Astroturfing doesn't just free monied interests from their own reputation, it allows them to co-opt the sense of legitimacy lended to actual grassroots organizations. There’s no such thing as a truly “neutral” medium when it comes to expressing political messages, and when you present a view that directly affects working-class people through a facade of working-class grassroots, it colors their perceptions just as much as presenting the argument as a corporate entity would.
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