Beware of 'Astroturfing' – have you heard of it?

[Saltandlight007]

I always try to test everything I hear / see / read. 'Astroturfing' is used widely - in advertising, politics and some religions (like Islam). It is often used most successfully on citizens of / by Communist / Totalitarian type governments and countries where media and free speech / individual thought / expression is hampered. These countries have been known to attempt to secretly infiltrate media / blogs to influence public opinion in the west also, but it tends not to work so well here (or far more slowly anyway).

I have noticed that there are now some YouTube channels dedicated to blaming Jews for the 9/11 incident (and just about everything else too). It makes me wonder whether pro-Muslims / Palestinians were behind the start of this whole idea – shifting the blame of this event and related resentment to the Jewish community by using astroturfing.

What a crooked world we live in – right? But, thank you God that we as believers are hidden in Christ Jesus and the truth by it's very nature always outs in the end.

[James]

Astroturfing is the practice of
masking the sponsors of a message or organization
(e.g. political, advertising, religious or public relations)
to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported
by grassroots participant(s).
source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing

I've seen 'anti-Christian 'astroturfing' being used in the 'comments' section following articles in Christian magazines. .. and there are a lot of them.
At first I wondered "Why are these people even reading Christian magazines and websites?"
Soon I began to realize that their only reason for posting is to disrupt, discredit, plant doubts and start arguments.
I think they actually copy/paste parts of their comments and use them in 'comments'  at many other Christian sites.
It seems like these people feel they are 'on a self appointed mission'.
(altho some actually get paid by organizations).
Sometimes they're upfront about who they are ... other times they try to give the impression that they're 'innocent seekers'.
Either way it's getting easier to spot them. .. usually atheists, Islamists, cultists or liberal humanists who love to call Christians  "haters" etc.

Ya, I can see how 'astroturfing' is becoming an effective tool in planting and spreading anti Jewish/anti Israel sentiments around the world.
BTW .. The lastest 'buzz phrase' is  "Israeli apartheid" (implying that "evil" Israel is a racist/segregationist nation). In the 80's Anti apartheid sanctions were brought against South Africa by the U.N. (including the U.S.) which brought that nation to it's knees.
I've noticed that lately some Hollywood and music industry stars are calling for sanctions/disinvestment against Israel. What these  'stars'  call for (or against) catches on quickly (like 'gay' marriage did).
Worldwide Astroturfing with a message calling for sanctions against "apartheid Israel" ?
Probably.
Internet Astroturfing is SO dishonest, deceptive ... Evil.
The Nazis would have loved it.

[buildthefarm]

jeem its worse than you know. I'm a political junky. the 'russian protestors in ukraine' astrotruf. occupy wall street, astroturf. basically any movement that springs up over night, the arab spring is another example. this is extremely common in the US today and also used all over the world. what you see in the comments sections is worse than astroturf. it finally broke a few months ago that the NSA has a program to push the party line in comments sections. it was an idea of one of the many cabinet members with questionable integrity shall we say. astroturfing also happens from the .org world a lot and from the unions. aflcio comes to mind. if you watch craigslist you can find pay by the day offers to go drum up crowd support for issues. its not in those words of course. some unions even have a per diem plan for protesting. astroturf is so common in american politics that its rare to see a grass roots movement because the fakers have given the whole thing a bad name for the average guy.

btw the nazis did it. this was used in the nazi defeat of the communist party in germany just toward the end of the republic. the brown shirts, chrystal knocked (there is a german way to spell that lol) ill just call it the night of broken glass, the guy that burned down a government building so they could accuse and execute a communist party official and drum up anti the other guy support. the nazis took power through this exact process that our government uses today.

as for the blaming of the jews for things, there is such an anti semitic spirit rising in this world its crazy. this is just one of the things signs of the times. I'm sure much of it is sponsored by some organization with some agenda. in palestinian schools for example they teach that jews make matsa bread with the blood of kidnapped girls. in some areas the girls are christian in other areas the girls are muslim just depends on who the area would be more protective of. there are many many of these exact same lies about jews told to increase anti semitism all over the world. as long as there is a devil there will be oppositions to Gods people

[warrior]

It is a sad fact that hatred of Jews is taught in a certain religion where they are represented as subhuman in it's 'holy' texts. I can confirm that this is widely accepted by the young in that faith. Anti-Israel seems to also be the call of the 'trendy' left. There is a rich irony in the things these 'liberals' want to impose on a sovereign nation. They deny it the right to protect its citizens. They seek to force it to give land to groups who state that they want to destroy it and attempt to do so. It is a shame that the liberals don't spend more time supporting Arabs with less human rights. They are the poor in Arab countries.

[hearingGod]

from john fenn april newsletter:

When I heard the US is giving up control of the Internet I asked the Father what it was about, and He said this: “Especially since what they call the Arab Spring, nations have wanted to control communication, for they saw it was through social media and Internet communication this was accomplished. You will hear of nations shutting down parts of the ‘net in the future, and one day this will be used against my people. The earth is about to enter into a time of increase persecution and distress, but no one can shut down my Spirit.”