"If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, it is now possible
to control and regiment the masses according to our will without them knowing it."
-- Edward Bernays 1891 - 1995
to control and regiment the masses according to our will without them knowing it."
-- Edward Bernays 1891 - 1995
|
Updated 07/19/20
|
|
When Ignorance is not Bliss; Astroturfed News
Fake Grassroots
|
Astroturf:
verb - ambitransitive ... to join an online discussion and pretend to be an independent member of the community. In reality, the "astroturfer" is a surrogate for some stakeholder - company, political faction, individual, etc. -- who has something to gain or lose. Origin: The term "astroturf" is a play on "grassroots". "Grassroot movements" arise organically through the people. "Astroturfing", then, is artificial grassroots. http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/astroturf The whole point of astroturf is to try to convince you there’s widespread support for or against an agenda when there’s not. Astroturf’s biggest accomplishment is when it crosses over into semi-trusted news organizations that unquestioningly cite or copy it. |
"Corporate Conflicts of Interest have Buried Investigative Journalism"
"How Astroturfing and Other Media Manipulation Compromise Your Ability to Get Truthful Information"
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/10/28/astroturfing-media-manipulation.aspx?
About Dr. Mercola: http://www.mercola.com/forms/background.htm
Sharyl Attkisson's TED talk on astroturf
"This veteran investigative journalist describes how astroturf, or fake grassroots movements
funded by political, corporate, or other special interests, very effectively manipulate and distort
media messages":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bYAQ-ZZtEU (11 minutes)
About Sharyl Attkisson: https://sharylattkisson.com/about/
|
Transparency tools:
"......Sourcewatch profiles the activities of front groups, PR spinners, industry-friendly experts, industry-funded organizations, and think tanks trying to manipulate public opinion on behalf of corporations or government." (Use the search box at top of any page to check out specific people or organizations of interest.) http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Front_groups http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Public_relations_professional http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Industry-friendly_experts http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Industry-funded_organizations |
|
ALWAYS fact-check
the articles offered by the below astroturf suspect media-manipulation sites, before accepting claims or passing on to others: ABC / Cecilia Vega, David Muir, George Stephanopoulos, John Karl American Academy of Pediatrics.... American Bridge American Council on Science and Health.... Associated Press (AP) Atlantic AutismSpeaks Autismum A&E BBC Bloomberg / John Heilman, Mark Halperin BrianDeer BuzzFeed CBS / Norah O'Donnell, Vicki Gordon Center for American Progress.... CNBC / John Harwood CNN Correct the Record CrooksandLiars Daily Beast Daily Caller Daily KOS Daily Wire Dorit Rubenstein Reiss (strong contributor to SkepticalRaptors).... Dr. Paul Offit (vaccine inventor paid fortune by Merck).... Drudge Report Every Child by Two FORBES FOX Groups related to Gun Safety Action Fund, Inc.... HealthNewsReview Hill / Brenty Budowsky Huffington Post Jimmy Wales Jon Entine JunkScience leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk LizDiz Los Angeles Times Media Matters for America MORE Mother Jones MSNBC National Journal National Public Radio (NPR) NBC New Republic New York Times New Yorker NewsMax NueroSkeptic ORAC, A.K.A. Dr. David H. Gorski PBS PEOPLE Magazine/ Sandra Sobieraj Westfall POLITICO Politifact Popsci POYNTER PublicHealth Raptor RawStory Respectful Insolence, A.K.A. “ORAC Knows” REUTERS Sacramento Bee SALON San Francisco Chronicle ScienceDaily ScienceBasedMedicine ScienceBlogs SEthMnookin Skepchick SKEPTIC SkepticalRaptors Skepticblog SLATE SNOPES Statnews (STAT) Talking Points Memo (TPM) TechCrunch Think Progress TIME Magazine Townhall UPI USA Today VICE Voices for Vaccines VOX Wall Street Journal Washington Post / blogger Erik Wemple.... WIKIPEDIA WIRED YAHOO NEWS |
"What’s most successful when it appears to be something it’s not? Astroturf. As in fake grassroots."
"The many ways that corporations, special interests and political interests of all stripes exploit media and the Internet to perpetuate astroturf is ever- expanding." "Surreptitious astroturf methods are now more important to these interests than traditional lobbying of Congress......" "There’s an entire PR industry built around it in Washington." "Instead of questioning authority, they question those who question authority.” Sharyl Attkisson, February, 2015 https://sharylattkisson.com/top-10-astroturfers/ About Sharyl Attkisson: https://sharylattkisson.com/about/ Winner of five Emmy Awards and an Edward R. Murrow Award: "Investigative Journalist who tries to give you information others don't want you to have." "What you do with it is your own business. Do your own research. Seek advice from those you trust. Make up your own mind." This veteran investigative journalist describes how astroturf, or fake grassroots movements funded by political, corporate, or other special interests, very effectively manipulate and distort media messages: Sharyl Attkisson's TED talk on astroturf and media manipulation: Published Feb 6, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bYAQ-ZZtEU (11 minutes) "...Independent minds should be concerned about the latest revelations in the news media’s unseemly relationships with government and political actors. While there are many responsible journalists working today, inside documents and leaks have exposed serious lapses constituting the most far-reaching scandal our industry has known....It’s our very own Newsgate." "A window into how political interests, including super PACs, work to influence and manipulate the news is found in an internal Clinton campaign memo published on Wikileaks." "News media analysis and commentary" Sharyl Attkisson, November, 2016 https://sharylattkisson.com/newsgate-2016/ "Astroturf and Propaganda" https://sharylattkisson.com/2015/02/propaganda-and-astrotuf-recognize-it/ “...Whether you are a Democrat or Republican – or someone who does not care at all about politics– it is hard not to notice the massive campaigns to influence opinion on social media, the news and out there in real life. Those trying to persuade and manipulate are playing hardball. And, in many instances, we are falling for it: they plop the ball in the middle of a frenzied crowd, nobody sees exactly who dropped it, and we in the news and the public pick it up and run.” “We are being played.” “Astroturf Epidemic” February 6, 2017 https://sharylattkisson.com/astroturf-epidemic/ Currently, Attkisson is hosting a weekly show called 'Full Measure', backed by a team of award-winning journalists: http://fullmeasure.news/about New York Times bestseller November, 2014: "Stonewalled: .....an incisive critique of her industry and the shrinking role of investigative journalism in today’s media." http://www.amazon.com/Stonewalled-Obstruction-Intimidation-Harassment-Washington/dp/0062322842 Latest book, released May, 2017: "The Smear: How Shady Political Operatives Control What You See, What You Think, and How You Vote...." "The dirty tricks those in power use to influence your opinions" https://www.amazon.com/Smear-Shady-Political-Operatives-Control/dp/0062468162/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Suggested Reliable News Sources:
"The Nitty Gritty" http://ourimaginalcells.info/the-nitty-gritty.html
How to avoid media manipulators:
"Identify Manipulated News" http://ourimaginalcells.info/ways-to-identify-manipulated-news.html Try using an Internet search engine that bypasses corporate-controlled information: ".....Good Gopher is the only search engine that completely bypasses the systematic censorship of the truth that's currently undertaken by Google, Facebook, Wikipedia and other sources of corporate-controlled disinformation. It's the premier tool for finding independent information and news on liberty, natural healing, central banks, food freedom, advanced science and a multitude of other vital topics." About Good Gopher: http://www.goodgopher.com/Welcome.asp Exposing astroturf sites:
-- JunkScience.com "Editor Steven J. Milloy is a columnist for Fox News and a paid advocate for Phillip Morris, ExxonMobil and other corporations......Milloy has spent much of his life as a lobbyist for major corporations and the trade organizations which have poisoning or polluting problems." (Articles are written to discredit any independent research which might detract from corporate profits.) http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Steven_J._Milloy About SourceWatch: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/SourceWatch:Purpose -- Voices for Vaccines "11 Facts Show How it’s a Propaganda Ploy for Emory University, CDC, and Big Pharma" Jeffery John Aufderheide, February 19, 2014 http://vactruth.com/2014/02/19/cdc-and-emory-university/ About Jeffery John Aufderheide: http://vactruth.com/about/ Founded VacTruth.com in 2009; rescue swimmer in the United States Navy and held Top Secret clearance. "Watching Major Media Commit Suicide"
"Giving the major media what they deserve is a force to be reckoned with, because there is no effective response to it. Nothing works. Who can lead the fight to preserve mainstream news? Answer: mainstream news. That isn’t going to go anywhere, because more and more people are rejecting the mainstream wholesale." January 21, 2017 https://blog.nomorefakenews.com/2017/01/21/watching-major-media-commit-suicide/ About Jon Rappoport: http://nomorefakenews.com/aboutjon.html |
|
GMO's and Vaccines share astroturfing:
"If you are against GMOs or vaccines, then you must be 'anti-science' !" "Nothing could be further from the truth. It is the people who research vaccines and GMOs who turn against them....the majority of those opposed to vaccines and GMOs are highly educated." "What Vaccines and GMOs have in Common" Joel Edwards, October 13, 2015 http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com/what-vaccines-and-gmos-have-in-common/ About Joel Edwards: http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com/author/joeledwards "......Be warned, you may find that many arenas in which you have come to believe that you were being protected by your authority figures and government...... In fact, you've been led down a blind path, and will be left there to fend for yourself when it all goes down. That's why I advocate for consumer empowerment and thoughtful decision-making about what we put in our bodies...." "Connecting the Dots: GMOs and Vaccines" Kelly Brogan, M.D. November 12th 2013 http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/connecting-dots-gmos-and-vaccines About Kelly Brogan, M.D.: http://kellybroganmd.com/credentials/ |
|
A common astroturf target:
"Internet Trolls Attack Anyone Resisting Vaccine Party Line": "............The collection of disparaging pieces by Orac and Raptor about anyone offering a different perspective about vaccination is so impressive in both volume and diversity it’s a wonder they have any time left for their day jobs. But rather than take umbrage, those at whom such vitriol is aimed should feel comforted by Socrates’ memorable adage, 'When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser.' " "Or its modern-day equivalent by Britain’s Maggie Thatcher, 'I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.' ” November, 2015 http://www.thevaccinereaction.org/2015/11/internet-trolls-attack-anyone-resisting-vaccine-party-line/ About TheVaccineReaction: https://thevaccinereaction.org/about-us/ |
'Jim Carrey’s Tweets heard around the world' immediately triggered
Jim Carrey blasted California Governor Jerry Brown, Centers for Disease Control (CDC),
pharmaceutical companies, and known toxic vaccine ingredients, after Brown signed SB277 on June 30, 2015 -- mandating an open-ended list of vaccinations for all non-home-schooled children (currently receiving an average of 64 shots before age 18) .... and removing California parents' basic human right to informed medical choice regarding vaccinations for their children. http://www.sb277.org/ "A hero was born for medical choice....." "Jim Carrey Hits Mark With New Article; Blasts CDC, Drug Companies" by Jefferey Jaxen, July, 2015 http://stateofthenation2012.com/?p=18280 About StateoftheNation: http://stateofthenation2012.com/?page_id=2
Jim Carrey's thought-provoking response:
https://medium.com/@JimCarreyIsHere/safety-and-civil-liberties-is-corporate-clout-calling-the-shots-ce1ac9a6c7ed#.b9hvpi73l
".......I haven’t lost my sense of humor folks.
It’s just buried under the rubble that was once my faith in government oversight." "But there’s a time to laugh and a time for a serious debate over what it could mean to have our civil liberties taken away by our government at the behest of pharmaceutical companies and their shareholders." "If we just sit back and let corporate clout call the shots, our children may not remember what freedom was." Jim Carrey, July, 2015 About Jim Carrey: http://www.jimcarreyonline.com/info/biography_full.html ALERT: Revealing New Study Supports Carrey's call for Informed Consent / Medical Choice Published: January 23, 2017 "Almost All Vaccines are Contaminated with Toxins and Linked to Side Effects" http://healthimpactnews.com/2017/study-almost-all-vaccines-contaminated-with-toxins-and-linked-to-side-effects/ "New investigation represents a new quality control that can be adopted to assess safety of a vaccine." Received: November 30, 2016 |Published: January 23, 2017 http://medcraveonline.com/IJVV/IJVV-04-00072.php |
04/25/19
