Blogs gone bad
“ASTROTURFING” impression of being spontaneous "grassroots" behavior
Agriprocessors Inc. "Postville Voices" at http://postvillevoices.com/ The blog defended the hiring practices of the plant in the small Iowa community, rebutting allegations in a federal affidavit and railing against the media, government and a labor union.
Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, Tennesseans Against Teen Drinking at http://www.stopteendrinkingtn.org/ was promoted as a font of grassroots opposition to Internet sales of alcohol, but its Web site didn't mention that the group was backed by major alcohol lobbying firms that wanted to kill legislation allowing people to buy wine from other states.
And here's another example of Blog gone BAD. Consumers Organized for Reliable Electricity at http://www.illinoiscore.org/ claiming to be a coalition of individuals, businesses and organizations who support continued reliability in the electric industry ran a Web site warning about the consequences of an electricity rate freeze. It was later revealed the group was largely funded by Illinois electric utility company Commonwealth Edison.
