Tech · Turf check
Astroturf Detector
Estimate whether a campaign, comment wave, or public outrage looks grassroots or manufactured.
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Plain-English why
Copyable takeaway
What this means
This instrument starts blank so it does not judge a made-up example before you have entered your own situation.
Formula used
Astroturf risk = message sameness + account weirdness + timing coordination + funding opacity + outrage velocity
Worked example
A normal grassroots wave has messy language, visible context, and varied accounts. A manufactured one often arrives suddenly, repeats the same lines, hides who benefits, and moves faster than ordinary people usually organise.
Common questions
Does a high score prove a campaign is fake?
No. It means the visible pattern has enough manufactured-looking signals that it deserves more scepticism before you amplify it.
What makes a movement look astroturfed?
Repeated language, brand-new accounts, identical timing, unclear funding, and outrage that appears fully formed before ordinary context catches up.
Plain-English summary
Fill in the questions on the left to generate a verdict card.
This section translates the result into a short, direct takeaway rather than leaving the page at a bare number.
Situation hub
Is This Feed Lying To Me?
A Technofatty situation hub for synthetic hype, astroturf signals, recommendation costs, and platform behaviour that feels too tidy.
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How to spot astroturfing without accusing the whole internet
A media-literacy guide to repeated language, strange account patterns, unclear funding, and synthetic grassroots signals.
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