In the marketing field, astroturfing is a practice that aims to simulate a spontaneous protest movement against a product, brand, or organization. Beyond this context, this technique is frequently used to discredit various projects, ideas, or political figures. More broadly, the term astroturfing also encompasses the simulation of support for a brand or individual.

Astroturfing can be seen as a form of manipulation that also manifests itself in other areas, such as politics and communication. Historically, outside of marketing and the digital world, early forms of astroturfing often involved recruiting fake protesters. With the advent of the internet, new strategies have emerged, making astroturfing more accessible and widespread, particularly on online social media platforms. For example, astroturfing campaigns can involve paying internet users to publicly express criticism or protest against a competitor or its products in online communities such as social networks and forums.

These criticisms can be disseminated under real or fictitious identities. Astroturfing can also involve manipulating the algorithms used by social media and search engines. For instance, it is possible to influence Google search suggestions or artificially appear in trending topics on Twitter by circumventing their algorithms. Significant social bot activity was observed during the 2016 US elections, suggesting orchestrated manipulation. These practices can be implemented by individuals acting manually or using software tools and bots to orchestrate astroturfing campaigns based on a large number of fake profiles or fictitious identities.

For example, Samsung has been accused of paying for