China recently discovered how astroturfing, creating fake “grassroots” support, loses its impact when the deception aspect is revealed. A recent example (late January 2020) occurred outside a western Canada (Vancouver) courthouse as
demonstrators assembled to protest efforts to extradite a Chinese telecommunications executive. This was a big
deal in China because this defendant worked for Huawei, the largest telecom company in China and the world. A
crowd gathered carrying signs demanding the release of the Huawei executive. One sign even made reference to
a pair or Canadian diplomats arrested in China and charged with espionage. That was relevant because the
diplomats were actually taken as hostages to pressure the Canadian government to release the Huawei executive.
Soon after the demonstrators began their protest things took a turn for the bizarre.
When reporters went to interview some of the demonstrators it was discovered that the demonstrators didn’t knowdemonstrators assembled to protest efforts to extradite a Chinese telecommunications executive. This was a big
deal in China because this defendant worked for Huawei, the largest telecom company in China and the world. A
crowd gathered carrying signs demanding the release of the Huawei executive. One sign even made reference to
a pair or Canadian diplomats arrested in China and charged with espionage. That was relevant because the
diplomats were actually taken as hostages to pressure the Canadian government to release the Huawei executive.
Soon after the demonstrators began their protest things took a turn for the bizarre.
they were demonstrators. The sign carrying group had been hired as background performers for a music video
and were paid a hundred dollars each for two hours work. The “background performers” were not happy to find
out they had actually been hired for astroturfing. This form of Information Warfare has been increasingly used
because it’s a relatively cheap way to get some favorable publicity, especially if the astroturfing stunt goes viral
on the Internet and becomes a news event. This only works, of course, if the audiences doesn’t know it’s
astroturfing, especially before the event is even concluded.
and were paid a hundred dollars each for two hours work. The “background performers” were not happy to find
out they had actually been hired for astroturfing. This form of Information Warfare has been increasingly used
because it’s a relatively cheap way to get some favorable publicity, especially if the astroturfing stunt goes viral
on the Internet and becomes a news event. This only works, of course, if the audiences doesn’t know it’s
astroturfing, especially before the event is even concluded.
Astroturfing has been around for a long time but the current version is made possible by mass media and short
news cycles. That means you only have to be convincing for a few hours, or a few days at most, before you are
found out. At that point it does not matter much if the astroturf angle is uncovered because the original event has
already become old, and no longer featured, news. The freshest newsworthy events tend to fade quickly and
competitive news organizations always have something new queued up to keep the audience turned in.
news cycles. That means you only have to be convincing for a few hours, or a few days at most, before you are
found out. At that point it does not matter much if the astroturf angle is uncovered because the original event has
already become old, and no longer featured, news. The freshest newsworthy events tend to fade quickly and
competitive news organizations always have something new queued up to keep the audience turned in.
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