A PowerPoint presentation by the fossil fuel industry front group Your Energy—obtained and published Tuesday by the Huffington Post—revealed an orchestrated plan to create a fake grassroots organization as a way to promote natural gas obtained through hydraulic fracturing as a safe energy source.
The August presentation, which was briefly available on the website of the American Gas Association (AGA)—which lobbies on behalf of the fracking industry—outlined the group’s “astroturfing” strategy, which includes using social media to attack opponents while also reaching out to supporters and those it calls “persuadables.”
The group, dubbed “Your Energy” by its creators, features a national organization plus state chapters in Virginia and Connecticut, and has the dual mission of generating support for natural gas endeavors among members of the public while also providing assistance to member companies. Its infrastructure, according to the presentation, includes a resources portal as well as a “digital war room” that tracks organized opposition to constructing more pipelines.
A key component of the group’s campaign is the appearance of grassroots support, as HuffPost explains:
However, rather than organizing demonstrations on the ground, like those who have protested day and night against the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, Your Energy’s campaign seems rather contained to the internet, especially social media.
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