Obama's PR firm busted for astroturfing smears

astroturfing - noun

The use of paid shills to create the impression of a popular movement, through means like letters to newspapers from soi-disant 'concerned citizens', paid opinion pieces, and the formation of grass-roots lobbying groups that are actually funded by a PR group (astroturf is fake grass; hence the term).

Dr. Rusty Shackleford at The Jawa Report has posted a HUGE exposé linking Barack Obama's PR firm (and David Axelrod, Obama's chief media strategist) with a dirty smear campaign and possible violations of federal election law. If all of Shackleford's extensive evidence is correct, this could come crashing right down on Obama's head – provided, of course, that the media investigates and holds the campaign accountable for its deceitful behavior. Here's a quick summary of his allegations...

Our research suggests that a subdivision of one of the largest public relations firms in the world most likely started and promulgated rumors about Sarah Palin that were known to be false. These rumors were spread in a surreptitious manner to avoid exposure.

It is also likely that the PR firm was paid by outside sources to run the smear campaign. While not conclusive, evidence suggests a link to the Barack Obama campaign. Namely:

• Evidence suggests that a YouTube video with false claims about Palin was uploaded and promoted by members of a professional PR firm.


• The family that runs the PR firm has extensive ties to the Democratic Party, the netroots, and are staunch Obama supporters.


• Evidence suggests that the firm engaged in a concerted effort to distribute the video in such a way that it would appear to have gone viral on its own. Yet this effort took place on company time.


• Evidence suggests that these distribution efforts included actions by at least one employee of the firm who is unconnected with the family running the company.


• The voice-over artist used in this supposedly amateur video is a professional.


• This same voice-over artist has worked extensively with David Axelrod’s firm, which has a history of engaging in phony grassroots efforts, otherwise known as "astroturfing."
• David Axelrod is Barack Obama’s chief media strategist.


• The same voice-over artist has worked directly for the Barack Obama campaign.

This suggests that false rumors and outright lies about Sarah Palin and John McCain being spread on the internet are being orchestrated by political partisans and are not an organic grassroots phenomenon led by the left wing fringe.

Listen to the two voice-overs and judge for yourself.

Michelle Malkin and Ace of Spades HQ have also been tracking the scandal and have posted multiple screencaps of the evidence in order to refute the Democrats' sloppy cover-up of their dishonest attempts to manipulate public opinion.

Ed Morrissey sums it up:

If all of this is true and the Obama campaign can be connected to it, it would represent a massive set of FEC violations, as well as the ultimate repudiation of "hope and change" and "New Politics". In fact, it would be a massive demonstration of Chicago Politics on a national scale.