(Astro)Turfing the Terfs

Astroturfing and subsidized mothers of the far right (part 2 of 3)

The Wizard of Oz written by L. Frank Baum — (image created by author)

Who’s driving?

Who is really behind all of these supposed social movements? Is it really just a small handful of well-intentioned but misinformed parents, or is there a Wizard behind The Curtain?

As I alluded to at the beginning of part one — to mix my metaphors — there is most definitely a puppeteer (or two). Just as political dramaturgia outlines a predictable pattern of behaviour, there’s another strategy often used in these types of scenarios: a subsidized public.

Subsidized public, a term coined by Edward Walker in 2014, is a model of advocacy in which those with power provide their “average citizen” supporters with resources to act within a targeted campaign. In this article I will deconstruct and expose the (oft-underhanded) tactics of these far-right actors.