START UP – Top ½ 116 • If “grassroots organizing” means ordinary people organizing themselves to fight for change, then what do you think “astroturfing” means? – DEFINITION: the use of formal public rela;ons or poliDcal campaigns to create what seems to be a popular grassroots movement about a parDcular issue.
ACTIVITY – Pg 117 • Analyze each document for SIX minutes • Example answers for Document 1 The name of organizaDon is…
The NaDonal Smokers Alliance
The name of PR The purpose of this Their methods of firm &/or co./ org. group is to… persuasion have backing it is... been to…
Philip Morris Tobacco Co. & PR= Burson-‐ Marsteller
stop laws that banned/limited smoking.
pay young people to recruit others (clubs/bars); ran ads, lebers to editor, canvassed…
• Quietly pass it to the next table and analyze the next document. (FOUR TOTAL as a GROUP)
REFLECTION – Bobom ½ 116 • How can you explain astroturfing to a friend who is your age or younger, making sure to provide an example. • What is at least one way you can figure out whether or not a group is truly grassroots or is propaganda from a poliDcal or corporate campaign? (see answers on the next page)
Answer to 2nd reflec<on ques<on. Copy red words.
Astroturf or grass?
• Do a search on Wikipedia to get general informaDon; “criDcism”. (remember…Wikipedia is just a start…anyone can add info to this site...including you.)
• Go to a news source you trust and do a search for this organizaDon. (I trust democracynow.org, Aljazeera.com, and the socialistworker.org)
• Complete a search on google for this group. • Go to the organizaDons website and click on “about us” and read with a criDcal eye.