Thank You For Astroturfing

by Kevin Grandia

When Rosa Parks made her historical move to the front of the bus, she was not doing it for anything more than her belief in the fair and equal treatment of African-Americans.

She was not paid to what she did, nor was she doing it to further the financial interests of a corporation.

Rosa Parks and the campaign she represented by her act, can be rightly called a grassroots movement - a spontaneous uprising of a group of people who believe in a cause and are willing to fight for it.

I remember when I was in politics, that one of the first questions that always came up when we were planning a big announcement was: "Who are our third-party validators?"

So for example, if you're launching a new small business initiative, you make sure that the local Chamber of Commerce representative is on stage with your politician, nodding their heads and making a statement about how great the initiative is.

The reasoning behind this "third-party validator" strategy is that people will always perceive someone who appears genuine, with no apparent personal incentives for supporting (or opposing) something, as more trustworthy in their assessment.

It is this trust with the public that makes grassroots movement so influential. Unfortunately, the idea of a grassroots movement have been twisted by some very smart people who understand how persuasive a grassroots movement can be.

Fake grassroots, or "astroturf" has been a longtime practice of those in the political and public relations business for more than a Century, and lately this unscrupulous technique has been getting a lot attention in Washington, DC.

The most egregious example of this was the fake letter scandal that shone a spotlight on a professional "grassroots" public relations firm called Bonner and Associates. You may recall that this involved Bonner employees creating fake letters from seniors groups that were sent to members of Congress urging them to vote against clean energy legislation.

While the letters appeared to be from a seniors organization, but they were paid for by the coal lobby.

PR experts know that a letter by a senior citizen from a real grassroots organization is much more likely to persuade a politician, than a letter from a representative of the coal industry who has an obvious financial interest in blocking legislation that will lead to less use of their product.

The scandal is now being investigated by the Energy and Environment Subcommittee chaired by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA).

While the owner of Bonner and Associates, Jack Bonner, contends that the fake letters were the work of a rogue employee, a look back at the history of the company shows that this isn't the first time Bonner and Associates has been caught astrotrufing.

Take for example a  memo dated August 27, 1986 drafted by Big Tobacco's main front group in the 1980's and 90's, the Tobacco Institute (think, Thank You for Smoking), listing "grassroots expert" Jack Bonner as being available to discuss communications efforts and help the Tobacco Institute focus more clearly on their grassroots capabilities and needs.

Bonner follows this memo up with a thank you letter to the Tobacco Institute dated Sept. 26, 1986 that reads in part:

"I would like to express my appreciation for your kind attention at the field staff meeting last week I hope you found our discussion to be helpful and informative. The tobacco industry has many tough battles ahead of it and I am firmly convinced that the only chance for victories is by broadening your base of supporters."

Bonner's thank you letter includes a brag sheet of the services his company provides:

"What really influences a member of Congress on an issue? In our democracy, it is the constituent - the voter - or, rather, large numbers of them, who have the most influence on the way a Representative or Senator will vote.

"Lobbyists know it is one thing to tell a Congressman his voters care about an issue, but it is much more important to prove they care - and care enough to get involved."

The Bonner astroturf story is just one of many out there. I'm sure everyone remembers the rigged health care town hall meetings ths summer. Or the American Petroleum Institute Energy Citizens rallies where oil companies bussed in their employees to attend anti-clean energy rallies.

Unfortunately, for the API, they were caught when a leaked memo surfaced outlining the plan. It was called for what it was: a manufactured astroturf event paid and organized by oil companies.

The astroturf industry is worth billions and the practice remains exempt under current federal lobbying laws, so it remains silent and very persuasive.

With new laws that force professional PR companies like Bonner and Associates to disclose their funding sources, astroturfing loses its teeth as a persuasive technique.

Until then, remain wary when a telemarketer calls you saying they represent a "concerned citizen" organization. Chances are pretty good that you're about to be astroturfed.

Kevin Grandia is an expert on astroturfing groups that distort the debate on climate change. He runs the website DeSmogBlog to track their activities.