Media misdirection #21: The fake tumblr posts against #occupy protests

In political circles, the term “grassroots” refers to a movement begun by citizens, and the term “astroturf” refers to a sponsored movement which is made to look as if it were begun by individuals, but which is actually propaganda.

(Astroturf movements work because readers will see people with whom they identify visually, and when they see someone like themselves taking a position for or against a movement, it can act as a cue for their own behavior).

I’m sure everyone remembers the whole “we are the 53%” tumblr which received considerable coverage at the outset of the #OccupyWallStreet protests? (From the same mainstream media which have been turning a blind eye to the #occupy protests, but that’s another story). The “53%” campaign was positioned as grassroots, but it turned out to be an astroturf campaign linked to conservative party donors - and it turned out many of the images they used of “average americans” were photoshopped or swiped from elsewhere on the web. Several people were very angry about their images being used to support conservative politics. 

I wanted to draw people’s attention to the increasing number and visibility of anti-OWS posts appearing on tumblr. To my cynical eye, many of them have the hallmarks of being another astroturf campaign meant to undercut support for the movement.

(This reminds me of the old military tactic of making your army appear much larger by propping up helmets on sticks in order to make it look like you’ve got soldiers everywhere - but in reality, it’s a few conservative folks in their mother’s basements doing internet trolling under assumed identities. A lot of the Ann Coulter-sounding rants are coming from very mainstream-looking young women who are writing like they got possessed by the demon spirit of Karl Rove. Cognitive dissonance.)

Just wanted to bring this to your attention. Also, suddenly a lot of these posts are advocating violence. The strength of this movement is in its nonviolence. Do not be swayed by this new wave of propaganda. (This is sort of like the Emperor telling Luke, “Give in to your anger! Feel the power of the dark side …”)