0 the practice of a company creating positive comments about their product or service or paying for them to be published, when these appear to come from ordinary members of the public: --
The authors argued that astroturfing that is purposefully designed to fulfill corporate agendas, manipulate public opinion and harm scientific research represents a serious lapse in ethical conduct.
Front groups are a form of astroturfing, because they intend to sway the public or the government without disclosing their financial connection to corporate or political interests.
This technique ties into the wider practice of astroturfing.
There is no agreement within the industry on where to draw the line on issues of disclosure, astroturfing and censorship.
Bloggers who receive free products, paid travel or other accommodations may also be considered astroturfing if those gifts are not disclosed to the reader.
Astroturfing businesses may pay staff based on the number of posts they make that are not flagged by moderators.
However, astroturfing operations are frequently detected if their profile images are recognized or if they are identified through the usage patterns of their accounts.
It has been called an example of an astroturfing organisation that disguises as an independent thinktank.
