Friday 2 May 2014

Vote No To Borders: An Astroturfing Site


Following on from my last posting, how does a grass roots pressure group that was only created on the 1st May manage to get a three minute plug on the BBC news channel at 8.30am the following day? Either the group is very lucky, or it isn't a genuine grassroots movement at all, it's an Astroturfing body.

Astroturfing is the practise of setting up a seeming grassroots campaign, which is actually nothing of the kind as it is invariably financed by business interests or major political parties. The name comes from AstroTurf, the artificial grass that American footballers play on, hence the idea of Astroturfing, which is about setting up an artificial grassroots' movement.

Vote No To Borders is one such fake site, something which the web discovered within hours. Wings Over Scotland has investigated it, as has Craig Murray, and then the Guardian joined in the kicking. The conclusion that they all reached is that VNTB is as fake as a pair of Gucci loafers bought on a market stall. 

So the BBC has either been duped into thinking that Vote No to Borders is a genuine grassroots body, or they are too lazy to run a full check on the people that they are broadcasting reports on. The other alternative is that Auntie is a willing stooge of a unionist Astroturfing outfit, which is not a conclusion that the Beeb will be happy for people to reach.

Best if they do a better investigation into this group.



1 comment:

  1. Yet another example of lazy journalism re-heated and spouted forth to the masses. Open your eyes to the lies. Get the facts yourselves. The establishment broadcaster has as much interest in informing you as the Westminster elite.

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