Astroturf and manipulation of media messages | Sharyl Attkisson | TEDxUniversityofNevada
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN commenters recommend it as an introduction to shills, astroturfing and lobbyist influence on media, especially in threads about fake news and online forums.
What it is
Investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson explains how astroturf, fake grassroots campaigns funded by corporate or political interests, manipulates media messages. The TEDx talk is about 11 minutes.
Recommended by 3 HN commenters across 3 different months, 2016 to 2018.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec sean_patel · 2017-01 · on “Iceland knows how to stop teen substance abuse”
wallethub.com link? Really? Ever heard of Astroturfing? The Big Tobacco and Vaping Lobbyists have tons of "blog posts" and "research" news that "debunk" all the bad things about Vaping and Smoking. Required Viewing: Astroturf and manipulation of media messages | Sharyl Attkisson | TEDx [this video]
Strong rec sean_patel · 2017-01 · on “Too much sitting, too little exercise may accelerate biological aging”
> Every year there's a study that contradicts the last one. That's from Astroturfing by <_INSERT_INDUSTRY_LOBBY_NAME_HERE_> Every time a real study with facts comes out saying X_____ is bad for you, the Corporations and Special Interest Lobbyists working on behalf of X____ will astroturf the media with "No really, X____ is good for you" X_____ = Coffee, Diary, Wine, Eggs, Wheat, Soy, Stevia, ..... you get the idea. Required Viewing: Astroturf and manipulation of media messages | Sharyl Attkisson | TEDx => [this video]
Recommends mrschwabe · 2016-12 · on “Ask HN: Great online forums?”
Yes an astroturfer aka shill I would personally define as someone portraying themselves to be a neutral observer/participant when in reality they are paid/sponsored/incentivized by a state, company, or organization pushing a specific agenda. They are intentionally planted to deceive, distort and sway those unsuspecting of such activity. There is an excellent TED talk [0] on the subject. The problem is rampant and while not new, the recent election cycle has highlighted it greatly. Propaganda does not spread just from 'fake news' or a heavily biased corporate media. It is co-ordinated & perpetuated online. The links and comments on Reddit and HN are prime mediums to infiltrate and carry this
Recommends Jerry2 · 2018-07 · on “Jonathan Albright, a Digital Sleuth Exposing Fake News”
I posted this before but after reading about all this "fake news" phenomena, I came across this TEDx talk by Sharyl Attkisson: "How Real Is Fake News?" [1]. She's a former reporter for CBS News and in the video, she explains where the term comes from, who's behind it and what the long-term consequences are. If you have 10 min of free time, give it a watch. She also gave another amazing talk on corporate astroturfing and media manipulation [2]: "Astroturf and manipulation of media messages" [1] [LINK] [2] [this video]
Cites sean_patel · 2016-11 · on “Mark Zuckerberg's update on fake news”
> How about teaching people how to fact check for themselves? How would an average person with average intelligence (which is over 80% of the world population) know if the "Fact check" site they are checking facts at, isn't also a fake site with fake facts? Heard of AstroTurfing ? [this video]
Cites justboxing · 2017-11 · on “Pai: Twitter Is Bigger Threat to Open Net Than ISPs”
Almost all the Ajit Pai stories these days appear to be Astroturfing. They are cleverly manipulating the masses of voting population, which doesn't think like most folks here at HN, into believing that this is a great thing for them. Astroturf and manipulation of media messages | Sharyl Attkisson | TEDx University of Nevada => [this video]