Astroturfing
Also called: astroturf, fake grassroots, fake reviews on reddit, undisclosed promotion
Definition
Astroturfing is promotion disguised as organic opinion: a company or its agents posing as independent users to praise a product, attack a rival or fake a consensus. On Reddit it breaks the rules on authenticity, impersonation and spam.
The name comes from AstroTurf, the fake grass: something made to look like grassroots support that was planted by someone with a stake in it. On Reddit, where people come specifically to hear from other users rather than brands, it is the most damaging thing a company can be caught doing.
How it works
Astroturfing on Reddit usually looks like one or more of these:
- An employee or agency posting "I've tried a bunch of tools and X is the best" without saying they work for X.
- A post asking "has anyone used X?" written by X's team, with replies from accounts the team controls.
- Several sockpuppet accounts agreeing with each other, often backed by vote manipulation.
- Undisclosed paid posts, where a user is paid to recommend a product as if unprompted.
What Reddit's rules say
Reddit does not have a rule titled "astroturfing," but several cover it:
- Rule 2: "Participate authentically in communities where you have a personal interest," and do not spam or engage in content manipulation.
- Rule 5: "Be authentic." You can stay anonymous, but "do not intentionally mislead others or impersonate an individual or entity in a deceptive manner."
- Impersonation policy: Reddit lists posing as a person or organization that does not exist, so others think they are dealing with a real entity, as a violation. It also says you may not misrepresent your identity or affiliation to deceive others.
Many subreddits add their own rule requiring anyone affiliated with a product to disclose it.
Outside Reddit, the US Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides also apply. The FTC says employees should disclose their employment relationship when reviewing their employer's products, and that listing your employer on a profile page "isn't enough." See affiliate disclosure.
Why it matters for marketers
Astroturfing tends to get found. Redditors check post histories, notice accounts that only ever mention one brand, and post screenshots. The thread that exposes it can outrank the product's own pages for its name, and it stays up.
The honest version is close to the dishonest one, minus the hiding. If you work on a product and someone asks for a recommendation, answer the question and say who you are: "I'm on the team that builds X, so I'm biased, but here's how we handle that." A disclosed, specific, helpful reply can still do well. An undisclosed one is a liability that grows with every comment.
Example
A supplement brand pays twenty accounts to post glowing "I finally found something that works" comments across health subreddits. A user notices that all twenty accounts were created the same month and mention only that brand. The resulting post collects thousands of upvotes, mods ban the brand's domain, and Reddit's admins take action on the accounts. For years afterward, searching the brand name surfaces that thread.
Frequently asked questions
Is astroturfing illegal?
It can be. In the US, the FTC's Endorsement Guides require disclosing material connections such as employment or payment when endorsing a product. On Reddit it also breaks the Reddit Rules on authenticity and impersonation.
How do you spot astroturfing on Reddit?
Look at post histories. Accounts that are new, mention one brand repeatedly, never disclose an affiliation, and appear together in the same threads are a common pattern.