From Techrights

AstroTurfing is the practice by which a company pretends to have a following but actually fakes it.

Posts on the subject:

Consumer Watchdog (AstroTurfing Group)

Consumer Watchdog

Astroturfing Examples: Learning How Microsoft Tames the Internet

2007

Manipulation, Astroturfing, and What Governments Can Do

2008

Beware the OOXML AstroTurfer: “The Wraith”, “multivac1”, “hAl”, Among Other Nyms

Microsoft May Have Bribed India for OOXML Pressure

Microsoft Has Been Rigging Votes/Polls for Ages

LawMedia Group May be Another Confirmed Microsoft AstroTurfing Agency

The Microsoft Connection with Dewey Square Group and DCI/New Media

Microsoft ‘Bribes’ Mac Bloggers to Slam Apple, Gartner Hosts Google FUD

Microsoft, TCS, DCI, Edelman, and Those Fake Letters About IP/SCO/Monopoly

James Plamondon: Microsoft Guerrilla

FullSIX and Mr. Youth LLC May Be Ruining the Web (AstroTurfing) on Microsoft’s Behalf

Microsoft: 800 lb. Guerrilla

Waggener Edstrom, Maureen O’Gara and Other Microsoft Shills

Partial Index: Summary of Bribed Sites, Journalists, and Bloggers (Vista 7)

Waggener-Edstrom Behind the 2008 Laptop Bribes, Edelman Behind 2006’s

Former Microsoft Shill Openly Confesses, Alleges Microsoft Still Does This

Respecting AstroTurfers?

Some New (But Very Old) Microsoft AstroTurfing Examples

Joe Barr, Linux.com Editor - My Obituary

Joe Barr Knew Microsoft’s Tactics All Too Well

Microsoft/Munchkin ‘Breaks’ the Web to Break Open Document Standards (Again)

Rob Enderle Guarantees “Amazing Numbers”, Show E-mails to Microsoft

2009

Gary M. Stewart (aka “Flatfish”) About Microsoft AstroTurfing: “It’s made me A LOT of money….

66 Pages of Microsoft Evilness

Another AstroTurf Scam Exposed?

2010

New AstroTurfing from Microsoft Philippines, Increased Pressure on Businesses

AstroTurfing for Vista 7 Still Alive

Microsoft MVPs Nymshifting, Pretending to be Other Gender, Accepting Bribes, and Libeling GNU/Linux Users

Microsoft PR Presented as ‘News’

Microsoft Partners Hail Microsoft Without Disclosure, More AstroTurfing

Apple Lies About “Open Source” (and More on Apple/Microsoft AstroTurfing)

Microsoft AstroTurf May be Linked to the Notorious “Dr. Evil” (Richard Berman) or Grassroots Enterprise

How Microsoft/Proprietary Software Bullies Ruined Digg for GNU/Linux

Microsoft Employees Push Vista Phone 7 {sic} in Twitter, Without Disclosure

2011

The Partly Microsoft-Owned Facebook is Doing Microsoft’s Dirty Job With Microsoft’s PR Firm

Microsoft and Nokia Caught AstroTurfing, Abusing/Attacking Genuine Posters

2012

Apple Whitewashing With Anti-Google AstroTurf Firm

Microsoft is AstroTurfing for Vista 8

Vista 8 AstroTurfing Not Enough, Other Tactics Used

2013

Microsoft Crime Persists: AstroTurfing a Regular Practice, Reddit Full of Paid Microsoft AstroTurfers

Microsoft Talking Points Planted by Microsoft Staff in the Geek Press

John Dvorak Complains About Microsoft AstroTurfing Intended to Shape Vista 8 Perceptions

Microsoft Takes AstroTurfing to New Levels, Co-opting Grassroots and Bribing People

2014

Microsoft Caught AstroTurfing Again, But Is Criminal Prosecution Imminent? (Unlikely)

Federal Trade Commission Should Launch Legal Action Against Microsoft Over Bribes to Bloggers in Exchange for Coverage

2015

Caution Needed When Microsoft Copywriters Flood the Media With Microsoft Propaganda

2022

Microsoft AstroTurfing: GitHub's First Puppet CEO May Be Violating Wikipedia Rules With Reputation Laundering by Proxy (Hiding the Serial Strangler From Microsoft/GitHub)

Other related pages:

Plamondon on schmoozing the Computing Society

This list is very incomplete, but some of the above cross-references other examples.

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Techrights

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