astroturf

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to manufacture apparent public support for a cause or product while disguising its organized sponsorship

   The agency tried to astroturf the campaign by paying people to pose as independent supporters.

2. 2
   verb

   to cover a surface with artificial grass

   The club plans to astroturf the small practice area beside the stadium.

From AstroTurf, a trademark for artificial grass associated with Houston's Astrodome. The political and marketing sense plays on grassroots: manufactured support is compared with manufactured grass. Astroturfed and astroturfing are inflected forms of the verb; astroturfing also names the activity.

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary