Editing Grassroots (section)

=== Astroturfing ===
{{Main|Astroturfing}}
[[Astroturfing]] refers to political action that is meant to appear to be grassroots, that is spontaneous and local, but in fact comes from an outside organization, such as a corporation or think tank.<ref name="Project MUSE">{{cite journal|last1=Barkan|first1=Joanne|title=Hired Guns on Astroturf: How to Buy and Sell School Reform.|journal=Dissent|date=2012|volume=59|issue=2|pages=49–57|doi=10.1353/dss.2012.0053|s2cid=153750542}}</ref><ref name=astroturf>{{cite news |author=Walter Truett Anderson |title=Astroturf – The Big Business of Fake Grassroots Politics |url=http://www.pacificnews.org/jinn/stories/2.01/960105-astroturf.html |date=January 5, 1996 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110129034915/http://www.pacificnews.org/jinn/stories/2.01/960105-astroturf.html |archive-date=January 29, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> It is named after [[AstroTurf]], a brand of [[artificial lawn|artificial grass]]. An example of astroturfing was the [[ExxonMobil]] Corporation's push to disseminate false information about climate change. ExxonMobil was largely successful both in disseminating the information through think tanks and in disguising the true nature of the think tanks.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cho|first1=Charles|title=Astroturfing Global Warming: It Isn't Always Greener on the Other Side of the Fence|journal=Journal of Business Ethics|date=3 July 2011|volume=104|issue=4|doi=10.1007/s10551-011-0950-6|pages=571–587|s2cid=154213597}}</ref>

More controversial examples of astroturfing often exhibit some characteristics of a real grassroots organization, but also characteristics of astroturf. Many of President Obama's efforts, for example, have been deemed grassroots because of their focus on involving the electorate at large. Critics of Obama have argued that some of these methods are in fact astroturfing because they believe that Obama faked the grassroots support. For example, the [[Reason Foundation]] has accused Obama of planting astroturf supporters in town hall meetings. Many movements and organizations must be placed on a continuum between grassroots and astroturf instead of labeled entirely as one or the other. For example, Australia's Convoy of No Confidence, a movement seeking to force an early election in 2011, incorporated elements of grassroots infrastructure in its reliance on the anger and discontentment of the participants. It also had elements of astroturf, namely the large extent to which it relied on support from political elites in the opposition party.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wear|first1=Rae|title=Astroturf and populism in Australia: The Convoy of No Confidence|journal=Australian Journal of Political Science|date=2014|volume=49|issue=1|doi=10.1080/10361146.2013.864598|pages=54–67|s2cid=154415052}}</ref>

The [[Tea Party movement|Tea Party]], a conservative force in American politics that began in 2009, is also a controversial example of astroturfing. Critics, notably including Former President [[Barack Obama]] and [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]] [[Nancy Pelosi]], dismissed the Tea Party as Astroturf. They say that the movement purports to represent large swaths of America when in reality it comes from a select few billionaires seeking policies favorable to themselves. The Tea Party has defended itself, arguing that it comes out of broad popular support and widespread anger at the Democratic Party and disenchantment with the GOP. Defenders of the Tea Party cite polls that find substantial support, indicating that the movement has some basis in grassroots politics. Critics point to the corporate influence on the Tea Party, which they believe indicates that the movement is more top-down than the grassroots rhetoric would suggest. The Tea Party can be considered grassroots to the extent that it comes from the people, but it is considered astroturfing to the extent that it is shaped by corporations and particularly wealthy individuals.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Formisano|first1=Ronald|title=The Tea Party|date=Feb 14, 2012|publisher=JHU Press|location=Baltimore|isbn=978-1-4214-0610-7|url=https://archive.org/details/teapartybriefhis0000form|url-access=registration|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref>