IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v8y2019i2p38-d201325.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Examination of the Impact of Astroturfing on Nationalism: A Persuasion Knowledge Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Kenneth M. Henrie

    (Stiller School of Business, Champlain College, Burlington, VT 05401, USA)

  • Christian Gilde

    (Department of Business and Technology, University of Montana Western, Dillon, MT 59725, USA)

Abstract

One communication approach that lately has become more common is astroturfing, which has been more prominent since the proliferation of social media platforms. In this context, astroturfing is a fake grass-roots political campaign that aims to manipulate a certain audience. This exploratory research examined how effective astroturfing is in mitigating citizens’ natural defenses against politically persuasive messages. An experimental method was used to examine the persuasiveness of social media messages related to coal energy in their ability to persuade citizens’, and increase their level of nationalism. The results suggest that citizens are more likely to be persuaded by an astroturfed message than people who are exposed to a non-astroturfed message, regardless of their political leanings. However, the messages were not successful in altering an individual’s nationalistic views at the moment of exposure. The authors discuss these findings and propose how in a long-term context, astroturfing is a dangerous addition to persuasive communication.

Suggested Citation

  • Kenneth M. Henrie & Christian Gilde, 2019. "An Examination of the Impact of Astroturfing on Nationalism: A Persuasion Knowledge Perspective," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-11, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:8:y:2019:i:2:p:38-:d:201325
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/8/2/38/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/8/2/38/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Charles Cho & Martin Martens & Hakkyun Kim & Michelle Rodrigue, 2011. "Astroturfing Global Warming: It Isn’t Always Greener on the Other Side of the Fence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(4), pages 571-587, December.
    2. Boush, David M & Friestad, Marian & Rose, Gregory M, 1994. "Adolescent Skepticism toward TV Advertising and Knowledge of Advertiser Tactics," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 21(1), pages 165-175, June.
    3. Campbell, Margaret C & Kirmani, Amna, 2000. "Consumers' Use of Persuasion Knowledge: The Effects of Accessibility and Cognitive Capacity on Perceptions of an Influence Agent," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 27(1), pages 69-83, June.
    4. Friestad, Marian & Wright, Peter, 1994. "The Persuasion Knowledge Model: How People Cope with Persuasion Attempts," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 21(1), pages 1-31, June.
    5. Apollonio, D.E. & Bero, L.A., 2007. "The creation of industry front groups: The tobacco industry and "get government off our back"," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 97(3), pages 419-427.
    6. Yubo Chen & Jinhong Xie, 2008. "Online Consumer Review: Word-of-Mouth as a New Element of Marketing Communication Mix," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(3), pages 477-491, March.
    7. Thomas P. Lyon & John W. Maxwell, 2004. "Astroturf: Interest Group Lobbying and Corporate Strategy," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 561-597, December.
    8. Tsoukalas, T. & Glantz, S.A., 2003. "The Duluth Clean Indoor Air Ordinance: Problems and Success in Fighting the Tobacco Industry at the Local Level in the 21st Century," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 93(8), pages 1214-1221.
    9. Kovic, Marko & Rauchfleisch, Adrian & Sele, Marc & Caspar, Christian, 2016. "Digital astroturfing in politics: Definition, typology, and countermeasures," SocArXiv 7ucsh, Center for Open Science.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ammar Redza Ahmad Rizal & Shahrina Md Nordin & Wan Fatimah Wan Ahmad & Muhammad Jazlan Ahmad Khiri & Siti Haslina Hussin, 2022. "How Does Social Media Influence People to Get Vaccinated? The Elaboration Likelihood Model of a Person’s Attitude and Intention to Get COVID-19 Vaccines," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-20, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Skarmeas, Dionysis & Leonidou, Constantinos N., 2013. "When consumers doubt, Watch out! The role of CSR skepticism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 1831-1838.
    2. Caldieraro, Fabio & Cunha, Marcus, 2022. "Consumers’ response to weak unique selling propositions: Implications for optimal product recommendation strategy," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 724-744.
    3. Golovacheva, E., 2016. "When consumers activate persuasion knowledge: Review of antecedents and consequences," Working Papers 6440, Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University.
    4. Yann Verhellen & Caroline Oates & Patrick Pelsmacker & Nathalie Dens, 2014. "Children’s Responses to Traditional Versus Hybrid Advertising Formats: The Moderating Role of Persuasion Knowledge," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 235-255, June.
    5. Becker-Olsen, Karen L. & Cudmore, B. Andrew & Hill, Ronald Paul, 2006. "The impact of perceived corporate social responsibility on consumer behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 46-53, January.
    6. Charles Cho & Martin Martens & Hakkyun Kim & Michelle Rodrigue, 2011. "Astroturfing Global Warming: It Isn’t Always Greener on the Other Side of the Fence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(4), pages 571-587, December.
    7. Lisa Koonce & Zheng Leitter & Brian White, 2023. "The effect of a warning on investors’ reactions to disclosure readability," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 769-791, June.
    8. Chang-Dae Ham & Jeesun Kim, 2019. "The Role of CSR in Crises: Integration of Situational Crisis Communication Theory and the Persuasion Knowledge Model," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(2), pages 353-372, August.
    9. Serife YAZGAN PEKTAS & Azize HASSAN, 2020. "The Effect of Digital Content Marketing on Tourists’ Purchase Intention," Journal of Tourismology, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 6(1), pages 79-98, June.
    10. Jochen Theis & Marvin Nipper & Marco Meier, 2024. "The influence of corporate philanthropic donations on private investors' valuation judgments: Experimental evidence," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 540-554, January.
    11. Grier, Sonya A. & Forehand, Mark R., 2002. "When Is Honesty The Best Policy? The Effect of Stated Company Intent on Consumer Skepticism," Research Papers 1665r, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    12. Annie Banikema & Dominique Roux, 2014. "La propension à résister du consommateur : contribution à l'étude d'une disposition à s'opposer aux tentatives d'influence marchande," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-02956891, HAL.
    13. Svenja Mohr & Rainer Kühl, 2021. "Exploring persuasion knowledge in food advertising: an empirical analysis," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(8), pages 1-27, August.
    14. Namin Kim & Youri Sung & Moonkyu Lee, 2012. "Consumer Evaluations of Social Alliances: The Effects of Perceived Fit Between Companies and Non-Profit Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(2), pages 163-174, August.
    15. Koukova, Nevena T. & Wang, Rebecca Jen-Hui & Isaac, Mathew S., 2023. "“If you loved our product”: Do conditional review requests harm retailer loyalty?," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 85-101.
    16. Annie Banikema & Dominique Roux, 2014. "La propension à résister du consommateur : contribution à l'étude d'une disposition à s'opposer aux tentatives d'influence marchande," Post-Print hal-02956891, HAL.
    17. Andrew E. Wilson & Peter R. Darke & Jaideep Sengupta, 2022. "Winning the Battle but Losing the War: Ironic Effects of Training Consumers to Detect Deceptive Advertising Tactics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(4), pages 997-1013, December.
    18. Suwelack, Thomas & Hogreve, Jens & Hoyer, Wayne D., 2011. "Understanding Money-Back Guarantees: Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Outcomes," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 87(4), pages 462-478.
    19. Jong Yoon Lee & Jae Hee Park & Jong Woo Jun, 2019. "Brand Webtoon as Sustainable Advertising in Korean Consumers: A Focus on Hierarchical Relationships," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-10, March.
    20. Mireille Chiroleu‐Assouline & Thomas P. Lyon, 2020. "Merchants of doubt: Corporate political action when NGO credibility is uncertain," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 439-461, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:8:y:2019:i:2:p:38-:d:201325. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.