An Examination of the Impact of Astroturfing on Nationalism: A Persuasion Knowledge Perspective

Abstract

One communication approach that lately has become more common is astroturfing, which has been more prominent since the proliferation of social media platforms. In this context, astroturfing is a fake grass-roots political campaign that aims to manipulate a certain audience. This exploratory research examined how effective astroturfing is in mitigating citizens’ natural defenses against politically persuasive messages. An experimental method was used to examine the persuasiveness of social media messages related to coal energy in their ability to persuade citizens’, and increase their level of nationalism. The results suggest that citizens are more likely to be persuaded by an astroturfed message than people who are exposed to a non-astroturfed message, regardless of their political leanings. However, the messages were not successful in altering an individual’s nationalistic views at the moment of exposure. The authors discuss these findings and propose how in a long-term context, astroturfing is a dangerous addition to persuasive communication.

How Does Social Media Influence People to Get Vaccinated? The Elaboration Likelihood Model of a Person’s Attitude and Intention to Get COVID-19 Vaccines

“…Several theoretical perspectives in the communication context highlighted that the ability of messages in communication to unlock the cognitive function in the individual might explain the attitudinal change [ 28 , 60 ]. The cognitive function refers to the ability of readers to observe and decipher the given stimuli [ 61 ]. Besides, perceived persuasiveness can only occur when the readers have a sense of trust and belief in the information conveyed to them [ 62 , 63 ].…”

Online astroturfing: A problem beyond disinformation

“…Classic astroturfing, as the name suggests 2 , refers to fake grassroots activism. It involves corporations or political parties using hired agents to create the impression that a view they wish to promote has widespread public support (Henrie and Gilde 2019). Genuine grassroots movements start from the ground up, from ordinary members of the public (Zickiene 2019).…”

“…4.See for example Zhang, Carpenter and Ko (2013), Leiser (2016), Kovic et al (2018), and Henrie and Gilde (2019).…”

Automation on Twitter: Measuring the Effectiveness of Approaches to Bot Detection

“…The previously noted definition given by Ratkiewicz et al (2011) regarding PA is a useful starting off point but research has gone further in narrowing down the definition. Henrie and Gilde (2019) develop this further by giving an informed overview of the development of astroturfing and its increasing prominence online. Here, there is an emphasis on five distinct factors that play into PA in a specifically digital arena; it should be on the Internet, politically initiated, manufactured, strategic, and deceptive.…”