What is Astroturfing? PR tactic used alleged smear campaign against Blake Lively

Blake Lively is at the center of a legal battle that sheds light on a controversial PR tactic known as astroturfing. In a complaint filed on Friday It ends with us The actress accused her co-star and director, Justin Baldoni, of sexual harassment, alleging that his PR team orchestrated a calculated retaliatory campaign to damage her reputation and disrupt her business.

At the heart of Lively’s claims is astroturfing – a strategy designed to manipulate public opinion by creating the illusion of grassroots support or backlash. The complaint alleges that Baldoni’s crisis PR firm, The Agency Group (TAG PR), coordinated social media efforts to portray her as “controlling” and “difficult” during the film’s production.

In a statement shared Monday, Dec. 23, attorney Bryan Freedman defended Baldoni’s crisis publicists at The Agency Group (TAG PR), stating that they “acted as any other crisis management firm would when hired by a client experiencing threats from two extremely powerful people with unlimited resources,” emphasizing that they were simply doing their job.

PEOPLE previously reported in August that Baldoni hired crisis PR manager Melissa Nathan — known for representing Johnny Depp during his high-profile legal battles — and worked with publicist Jennifer Abel amid the release of his film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestseller.

In a statement given to New York TimesLively shared her motivations for filing the complaint, saying, “I hope my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak out about wrongdoing and help protect others who may be targeted .”

Baldoni’s legal team pushed back on the claims, with Freedman telling PEOPLE that the allegations were “false” and “intentionally malicious with an intent to hurt the public.”

What is Astroturfing?

Named after synthetic grass, astroturfing mimics grassroots movements to create the illusion of public consensus. Dr. Joan Donovan, a Boston University professor and disinformation expert, told PEOPLE: “It’s about faking a crowd. When social media accounts—whether fake or real—coordinate to push a narrative, that’s astroturfing. These campaigns aren’t organic. They’re designed to look like real public opinion, but they are completely manufactured.”

Dr. Chico Camargo, a research associate at the Oxford Internet Institute, notes that astroturfing tactics have evolved along with social media. “It’s not just bots anymore. Real people are often paid or incentivized to post coordinated content,” says Camargo. “This makes it harder to distinguish genuine engagement from fake campaigns.”

He added: “Astroturfing goes back as far as propaganda itself. Spreading a rumor is an early form of it. The honest way to do crisis management, for example, would be to issue a statement or address issues directly. But then you have gray areas, like sending someone to an event to make them look good, or like they’re supporting certain causes.”

He continued: “You see it a lot in politics – getting a crowd to welcome a candidate to make it look like they’re loved. Whether it’s corporate politics, sports or even Hollywood, you’ll see astroturfing For example, if you want to get buzz around a movie, you might pay people to show up at a movie theater or post on social media to get things going, but that’s still astroturfing.

Weaponizing misogyny

The complaint alleges that TAG PR exploited misogynistic stereotypes to fuel the smear campaign against Lively. According to experts, this tactic is common in Hollywood and beyond.

“PR firms know how to exploit stereotypes,” explains Donovan. “In this case, it’s the trope of women with power who are controlling or demanding. These narratives resonate with audiences predisposed to believe them, and astroturfing amplifies them to devastating effect.”

Donovan draws parallels to alleged tactics used during the trials of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, where coordinated narratives disproportionately targeted Heard. “Misogyny on social media is rampant,” says Donovan. “PR firms know this and use it to their advantage by leaning into these biases.”

Legal and ethical implications

While astroturfing exists in a legal gray area, it often crosses ethical lines. “Encouraging people to post hashtags or opinions is usually fine,” says Camargo. “But when it involves fake accounts, harassment or misinformation, it crosses into unethical — and sometimes illegal — territory.”

The way forward

Whether this case goes to trial or is quietly settled, experts say it raises important questions about PR practices in Hollywood. “Astroturfing operates in the shadows,” says Camargo. “It’s a tool PR firms use to control public perception, but it’s rarely discussed openly.”