[CLUE-Talk] The military takes a cue from Microsoft

[Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier]

I'm sure that just about everyone on this list has heard of
"astroturfing" -- sending out fake letters or having real people send
form letters with exactly the same message, usually instigated by a PR
firm, in an attempt to create the illusion of popular, grass-roots
support. (Hence, astroturf.)

Microsoft may not have done it first, but they certainly brought big
attention to the practice when they started doing it.

Now, the military is doing it too:
http://www.dissociatedpress.org/article.pl?sid=03/10/11/1458202&mode=thread

They're sending out letters under various names, to "hometown"
newspapers, that are all identical. They all end like this:

"The fruits of all our soldiers' efforts are clearly visible in the
streets of Kirkuk today. There is very little trash in the streets, many
more people in the markets and shops, and children have returned to
school. This is all evidence that the work we are doing as a battalion
and as American soldiers is bettering the lives of Kirkuk's citizens. I
am proud of the work we are doing here in Iraq and I hope all of your
readers are as well."

Some of the soldiers haven't even seen these letters -- some admitted to
signing a letter like this, and some say they agree with the sentiment,
but hadn't seen the letter previously nor had they signed it. 

When you hear about things like this, it really brings into question
whether you can trust anything coming from the Bush administration. 

Zonker
-- 
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier
jzb at dissociatedpress.net
http://www.dissociatedpress.net
http://www.corante.com/openmind