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Amazon, Google Busted Faking Small Business Opposition To Antitrust Reform:
For decades now, a favorite DC lobbying tactic has been to create bogus groups pretending to support something unpopular your company is doing. Like "environmentalists for big oil" or "Americans who really love telecom monopolies." These groups then help big companies create a sound-wall of illusory support for policies that generally aren't popular, or great for innovation or markets.
Case in point: this week both Politico and CNBC released stories showcasing how Amazon and Google had been funding a "small business alliance" that appears to be partially or entirely contrived. The group, the Connected Commerce Council, professes to represent small U.S. businesses, yet has been busy recently lobbying government to avoid antitrust reform (which would, generally, aid small businesses).
When Politico reached out to companies listed as members of the organization, most of them had mysteriously never heard of it, and were greatly annoyed their company names were being used for such a purpose:
The four-year-old group listed about 5,000 small businesses in its membership directory before it removed that document from its website late last month. When POLITICO contacted 70 of those businesses, 61 said they were not members of the group and many added that they were not familiar with the organization.
Google is not your friend!
(Score: 4, Informative) by GlennC on Thursday April 07 2022, @01:45PM (7 children)
I thought that it was common knowledge that corporations and industry groups create fake grass-roots organizations.
Definition of "Astroturfing": https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astroturfing [merriam-webster.com]
Sorry folks...the world is bigger and more varied than you want it to be. Deal with it.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 07 2022, @01:48PM (5 children)
It is and if politicians cared about our democracy, they wouldn't allow it. This isn't any sort of legitimate free speech. They shouldn't be allowed to spend money on it.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 07 2022, @08:34PM (4 children)
Yes, we need to ban any spending on any speech of which you, personally, do not approve. Absolutely. Because your view of what does or does not constitute permissible speech, and permissible use of resources is truly the acid test, the one shining beacon of rectitude in a morass, nay, a quagmire - more, even a miasma of doubt and duplicity. You and your organisation, Patriotic UltrAmericans for Pancivil Liberalisationalities, will lead us through the murk of sin and horror into the sunlit uplands of responsibly defined freedoms.
Where do we donate?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 08 2022, @12:17AM (2 children)
If they believe these things they should say it with their names attached. If these people doing the posting actually believe this, then why are they being paid to pretend like they're using their own beliefs?
This isn't like when people come door to door with prepared statements looking for a signature or donations, this is far worse.
And of course it should apply to all sides, if you're not able to make a compelling argument without stooping to this, your probably on the wrong side.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 08 2022, @05:08AM (1 child)
Anonymous speech is protected, and for very good reasons. So is pseudonymous speech. Outlawing them is a favourite approach of witch hunters and dictators, so speaking of people probably being on the wrong side, have you checked the company with which you're running?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 08 2022, @04:01PM
I am Anonymous Coward, and I approve this message.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday April 08 2022, @01:17AM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 07 2022, @05:37PM
Wow, I was today years old when I learned why it was called astroturfing.
Thank you GlennC!