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[stocks]

Astroturf is a a carefully constructed narrative by unseen special interests designed to manipulate your opinion.     

 

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.

 

Astroturfers often disguise themselves and publish blogs, write letters to the editor, produce ads, start non-profits, establish Facebook and Twitter accounts, edit Wikipedia pages or simply post comments online to try to fool you into thinking an independent or grassroots movement is speaking. 

 

Astroturf’s biggest accomplishment is when it crosses over into semi-trusted news organizations that unquestioningly cite or copy it.  

The whole point of astroturf is to try to convince you there’s widespread support for or against an agenda when there’s not    

 

Groups related to Gun Safety Action Fund, Inc. were 2014's top Astroturfers. These groups include Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Everytown, Everytown for Gun Safety, Gun Sense, It’s Time for Gun Sense in America, Gun Sense Voter, I’m a Gun Sense Voter, Moms Take the Hill and Stroller Jam.  

 

The groups present themselves as grassroots organizations of “mayors, moms survivors and everyday Americans.” They are spearheaded by former New York Mayor and multi-billionaire Michael Bloomberg, and former PR professional Shannon Watts. In 2013, they announced a $50 million political campaign to try to counter the efforts of the formidable gun rights lobby.   

 

https://sharylattkis...0-astroturfers/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[stocks]

AstroTurf and Immigration.  

 

An organization called the Partnership for a New American Economy (PNAE) working in conjunction with Welcoming America announced that twenty different communities throughout the country had been selected to integrate immigrants, both legal and illegal, as well as refugees into their community as part of the Gateways for Growth Challenge.     

 

The action portion of this astroturf campaign is to co-opt local mayors and city councils by providing them with doctored studies and flawed data that suggests refugees and illegal immigrants will bring economic prosperity.   

 

The astroturf website ThinkProgress, which is funded by the non-profit organization the Center for American Progress, has already begun producing various articles linking to reports highlighting studies that propagate the “positive economic impact” talking points of resettling refugees.   

 

Behind the scenes corporate honchos are leading the open borders charge to ensure that a steady supply of cheap labor in the form of immigrants and refugees are distributed to your towns and cities in order to essentially replace you and take your jobs.

 

Co-chairs of PNAE are none other than Michael Bloomberg, Disney’s Bob Iger, Rupert Murdoch of Fox, and Jim McNerney of Boeing.    

 

 

 

 

https://politicallys...-and-astroturf/

 

 

[stocks]

The Smear: How Shady Political Operatives and Fake News Control What You See, What You Think, and How You Vote  

 

Behind most major political stories in the modern era, there is an agenda; an effort by opposition researchers, spin doctors, and outside interests to destroy an idea or a person. The tactic they use is the Smear. Every day, Americans are influenced by the Smear without knowing it. Paid forces cleverly shape virtually every image you cross.

 

 

Veteran journalist Sharyl Attkisson has witnessed this practice firsthand. After years of being pitched hit jobs and puff pieces, she’s an expert at detecting Smear campaigns. Now, the hard-hitting investigative reporter shares her inside knowledge, revealing how the Smear takes shape and who its perpetrators are—including Clinton confidant Sidney Blumenthal and, most influential of all, "right-wing assassin turned left-wing assassin" political operative David Brock and his Media Matters for America empire. 

 

 

 https://www.amazon.c...haryl attkisson

 

 

 

[stocks]

The Smear: How Shady Political Operatives and Fake News Control What You See, What You Think, and How You Vote   

 

 

 

This book documents political smear campaigns, behind-the-scenes coordination between the press and political campaigns and other special interests, and efforts by our own government to manipulate the news, influence public opinion, and punish whistleblowers. 

Among her most serious allegations:

3. The federal government creates fake Internet identities to flood social media with propaganda in support of, or against, various policies, media outlets, or individuals. Fake Internet identities are also created by hired consultants and political operatives

4. In the 2016 presidential campaign, there was back-and-forth collusion between the Clinton campaign, the DNC, and major media outlets.

5. Left-wing consultants and operatives conspire to dig up dirt on conservative media personalities with the intent of forcing them off the air. Fox News in its entirety has even been targeted.

6. When you see numerous media outlets use almost the identical language and phrasing to describe a story, it is no accident; they are responding to cues given them by paid political operatives.