As most people are aware of, there is consistent attention paid in the media and by the general public to the so called debate surrounding climate change. These range from whether climate change is a hoax altogether- to whether what is being experienced is related to human factors. While the scientific consensus is overwhelmingly in favor of anthropogenic factors causing climate change, as well as possibly severe impacts on the environment because of this[7], many people are still uncertain about what they believe in regards to this or simply do not buy into this idea. Reasons given for this can range from believing the actual damages are over exaggerated, to thinking that global warming is a conspiracy and that those who support it have ulterior agendas.
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| Infographic taken from David Anderson on planetsave.com |
Case Study:
Astroturfing Global Warming: It Isn't Always Greener on the Other Side of the Fence
Some of these misconceptions can be directly related to the companies that stand to suffer economically in the face of global warming. A recent study by Charles Cho et al. analyzed the astroturfing undertaken by these companies and the effects that these fake grassroots organizations have on the general public. Astroturf organisations are fake grassroots organizations that are usually sponsored by large corporations to support arguments or make claims in their favor[2]. This study conducted experiments to determine the affect that the astroturf organizations have on the level of user certainty regarding the causes of global warming. The study results then show that participants that used the astroturf websites were more uncertain about the causes of global warming and humans' role in it than those who used grassroots websites[8]. The study's results are thus successful in showing the effect that astroturf organizations can have in swaying public opinion about global warming. While the study's results raise multiple questions about the business ethics of these organizations, they also show that astroturfing poses a significant threat to the legitimacy of the grassroots movement.
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