Canadian astroturfers may be recruiting writers through Craigslist
Ads have appeared on Craigslist attempting to recruit writers for "astroturfing" campaign(s). The ads ask writers to post political comments in exchange for an hourly rate of pay.
Nearly identical ads now exist soliciting writers to promote both left and right wing talking points, although it's possible that one set of ads exists to diffuse outrage against the other set of ads. As Craigslist allows readers to report inappropriate content, the ads are eventually deleted after being posted.
The astroturfing campaign(s), if real, exist to artificially amplify talking points. As such, they would serve to undermine the integrity of Canadian political debate.
An appropriate response, rather than simply ignoring the ads, might be to find the ads on Craigslist, before they're deleted, and submit applications in an attempt to determine the identities of those conducting the campaigns. Whatever organization is behind the campaigns, should they prove real, should be exposed.
Comments
3 Comments
Your Uncle
Mar 29, 2011 at 6:30pm
Mike: Have you considered the likeliest, most obvious explanation? That the original ad (which appears to have been written by a not-particularly-literate eighth-grader) is a joke, a prank, a hoax, a jeu d'esprit?
Legs are being pulled. Hang on to your trousers.
Cheers, Allan
spartikus
Mar 30, 2011 at 11:18am
This particular ad is likely a hoax. But "persona management" and such are very real services for sale to corporations and political parties. The [even darker] side of this is the HBGary Scandal.
http://blogs.forbes.com/parmyolson/2011/03/17/congress-opens-investigati...
Mike Cantelon
Apr 7, 2011 at 4:49pm
Greetings Uncle o' Mine!
It could very well be a hoax to get folks riled up... pretty difficult to figure out without actually applying (which I myself was, of course, too lazy to do). It could be nefarious fun to create a similar hoax and see how much traction it gets.
Cheers!