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| Author: | Cho, C.H. (et al.) |
| Title: | Astroturfing global warming: it isn't always greener on the other side of the fence |
| Journal: | Journal of Business Ethics
2011 : DEC III, VOL. 104:4, p. 571-587 |
| Index terms: | business ethics climate change global warming organizations public relations Internet communication corporate responsibility social responsibility |
| Freeterms: | CSR legitimacy public opinion WWW Canada universities |
| Language: | eng |
| Abstract: | Usually sponsored by large corporations, astroturf (herein as: a-t.) organizations (as: orgs.) are fake grassroots orgs. in order to support any arguments or claims in their favour, or to challenge and deny those against them. They constitute the corporate version of grassroots social movements. This study examines the effectiveness of a-t. orgs. in the context of global warming, wherein large corporate polluters have an incentive of setting up a-t. orgs. to undermine the importance of human activities in climate change. Herein, using approximately 280 undergraduate participants at a large Canadian university an experiment is performed to determine whether a-t. orgs. have an impact on the level of user certainty about the causes of global warming. It is shown that people using a-t. websites got more uncertain about the causes of global warming and humans' role in the phenomenon than people using grassroots websites. Thus, a-t. orgs. are successful in promoting business interests over environmental protection. In addition, a-t. poses a significant threat to the legitimacy of the grassroots movement. |
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