Don’t trust those comments or ratings you see on websites – they may well have been manipulated by organised corporate, state or right wing interests.
From a very interesting post by Monbiot today – on ;’astroturfing’ –
“An astroturf campaign is one that mimics spontaneous grassroots mobilisations, but which has in reality been organised. Anyone writing a comment piece in Mandarin critical of the Chinese government, for example, is likely to be bombarded with abuse by people purporting to be ordinary citizens, upset by the slurs against their country. But many of them aren’t upset: they are members of the 50 Cent Party, so-called because one Chinese government agency pays 5 mao (half a yuan) for every post its tame commenters write. “
And here’s a member of the rightwing Teaparty suggesting how to distort the ratings on books with political content on Amazon –
“Here’s what I do. I get on Amazon; I type in “Liberal Books”. I go through and I say “one star, one star, one star”. The flipside is you go to a conservative/ libertarian whatever, go to their products and give them five stars. …
So don’t trust those comments or ratings you see on websites – they may well have been manipulated by organised corporate, state or right wing interests.
