Definition

Grassroots activism actually funded and organized by corporations or the wealthy, because authentic public opinion is so expensive.

Example Usage

Investigators discovered the 'spontaneous' protests were actually an astroturf campaign funded by oil companies.

Origin

Metaphor from AstroTurf fake grass; usage from 1980s onward

Fun Fact

Astroturf campaigns cost millions but feel cheaper than genuine political organizing.

Source: Propaganda Research Institute

Related Terms

Beginner

Talking Points

Pre-approved sentences that politicians repeat verbatim on every news show, making them sound like slightly more articulate parrots. They're the political equivalent of a student who memorized one paragraph and hopes the essay question matches.

🏛️ Government / Politics
Beginner

razor-thin majority

A legislative majority so small that losing even one or two votes can defeat legislation, giving individual members outsized leverage. It's democracy on a knife's edge.

🏛️ Government / Politics
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barnstorm

To tour rural areas making political speeches, traditionally in barns or small venues, pressing the flesh with voters who don't see candidates often. Old-fashioned retail politics without the retail.

🏛️ Government / Politics
Beginner

Grassroots

A political movement that starts from ordinary people, as opposed to the usual method of starting from billionaires in mahogany-paneled rooms. It's democracy's version of a garage band, complete with more enthusiasm than funding.

🏛️ Government / Politics
Beginner

landslide

A victory so overwhelmingly lopsided that the losing candidate's concession speech is written before polls close. While technically referring to any decisive electoral win, pundits love throwing this term around whenever someone wins by more than 5 points. The political equivalent of a mercy rule that nobody asked for.

🏛️ Government / Politics
Intermediate

Referendum

When the government says "we can't decide, so you deal with it" and lets citizens vote directly on an issue. It's democracy's version of asking the audience, and just like on game shows, the audience doesn't always get it right.

🏛️ Government / Politics

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See “Astroturf” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

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