Astroturfing refers to the strategy by which established, politically motivated groups (such as corporations, interest groups, political campaigns, etc.) impersonate grassroots activist movements for political gain. Online or digital astroturfing is the specific use of the internet—and particularly social media platforms—to create the illusion of organic, widespread support for a specific cause or candidate. Astroturfing is a Casebook value under the "Strategy" variable in the code book.
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The Technology and Social Change Project was active from 2019-2023. The Media Manipulation Casebook was a major publication of the TaSC project, and will remain fully accessible at this URL going forward, but will no longer be actively updated.
