astroturf

noun

1. (uncountable)A synthetic material used in sports grounds as a durable substitute for natural grass.

   “And then there's AstroTurf. Invented in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and patented by Monsanto in 1965, AstroTurf is the world's first synthetic turf used as a sports playing surface, coming to fame—and its name—when it was put into the Houston Astrodome in 1966.”

2. (US, alt-of, alternative, uncountable)Alternative form of Astroturf.
3. (alt-of)Alternative letter-case form of AstroTurf.
4. (US)A campaign designed to appear like a genuine popular (or grassroots) movement, that does not have such popular support.

   “An Astroturf campaign is a fake grassroots movement: it purports to be a spontaneous uprising of concerned citizens, but in reality it is founded and funded by elite interests. Some Astroturf campaigns have no grassroots component at all. Others catalyse and direct real mobilisations.”

5. (alt-of)Alternative letter-case form of AstroTurf.

verb

1. (alt-of)Alternative letter-case form of Astroturf.
2. (transitive)To cover with an artificial grasslike material.

   “But what was there left to Astroturf? The sitting-room? Hugh's bald patch?”

   “Is it just me, or is it hard to find anyone nowadays to Astroturf your car?”

3. (lowercase, transitive, usually)To fabricate an impression of political support for an agenda.

   “We have been Astroturfed by some of the biggest players in the business. As you will read in the coming pages, a reasonable-sounding group called Americans for Balanced Energy Choices spent us$40 million during the last presidential[…]”

   “Even Maher reacted; his Achilles' heel is that even though he's a leftie, he exhibits clear contempt for the astroturfed audience he relies upon for his laughs. The awkwardness continued for a full, commercial-free half hour,[…]”

   “The opposition party in Washington and its Astroturfed Tea Partiers around the country could focus strictly on assigning blame for the disaster . At the direction of the field marshals of the rich right in Washington , the Tea Party was[…]”

adj

1. Of a group created by a larger organisation (especially a corporation or political party), but presenting itself as a grassroots organisation.

   “Can we assure readers that astroturf letters will not appear as letters in The Star? Unfortunately, no. At least a dozen Web sites from which astroturf can be generated have been identified. Many more exist.”

   “The defining feature of astroturf groups is that they are generated by an industry, think tank, or front group, but disguised to appear as a spontaneous, popular 'grassroots' effort. They are created to lobby or campaign on behalf of[…]”

   “These astroturf organizations allow corporations to engage in public debates and government hearings under the guise of concerned citizens. A key purpose of astroturf activities is to defuse the efforts of social movement organizations[…]”