Astroturf

Astroturf is deception by big financial or political entities. It uses false front organizations to disseminate corporate/political information in the guise of Grassroots organizations. (Real Astroturf is fake plastic grass mats, so fake grassroots = Astroturf)

The deception about the source can be added to by the information actually being bad or biased, also. The deception ends up being a convincing impression that small groups of highly motivated people have been roused to take democratic action by releasing information.

When big companies or political interests disseminate public relations or propaganda material under the guise of it being informational, especially to a captive, receptive, and impressionable audience such as schoolchildren, this should be categorized as Category:Astroturf seeding