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This August 2017 PowerPoint Presentation was put together by a front group for the fossil fuel industry. (Photo: Your Energy/screenshot)
Fracking Industry Front Group's Secret Playbook Reveals Orchestrated Astroturf Effort
"Remember," says the Sierra Club, "if you see anything from 'Your Energy,' it's just a PR campaign funded by the oil and gas industry."
Dec 05, 2017
A PowerPoint presentation by the fossil fuel industry front group Your Energy--obtained and published Tuesday by the Huffington Post--revealed an orchestrated plan to create a fake grassroots organization as a way to promote natural gas obtained through hydraulic fracturing as a safe energy source.
The August presentation, which was briefly available on the website of the American Gas Association (AGA)--which lobbies on behalf of the fracking industry--outlined the group's "astroturfing" strategy, which includes using social media to attack opponents while also reaching out to supporters and those it calls "persuadables."
The group, dubbed "Your Energy" by its creators, features a national organization plus state chapters in Virginia and Connecticut, and has the dual mission of generating support for natural gas endeavors among members of the public while also providing assistance to member companies. Its infrastructure, according to the presentation, includes a resources portal as well as a "digital war room" that tracks organized opposition to constructing more pipelines.
A key component of the group's campaign is the appearance of grassroots support, as HuffPost explains:
Your Energy now claims it has recruited roughly 10,000 supporters to advocate for its companies and counter protesters who warn that new pipelines threaten to exacerbate climate change, cause environmental damage and violate landowners' property rights. The registration number signals the organization's ramped-up effort to shore up political support for new pipeline projects and tip the scales in favor of corporations that already wield disproportionate clout.
Your Energy builds on a longstanding effort by the fossil fuel industry to paint itself as a mere ideological rival to environmental groups at the opposite end of a political horseshoe. That narrative attempts to reframe the argument against pipelines around jobs and economic development rather than environmental concerns, ignoring the power disparity between deep-pocketed corporate giants and environmental nonprofits.
However, rather than organizing demonstrations on the ground, like those who have protested day and night against the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, Your Energy's campaign seems rather contained to the internet, especially social media.
"For them, it's like, 'We have to do something, we have to counter this narrative, or at least we have to muddy the waters and make it seem like there's protests on both sides,'" said Josh Stanfield, executive director of the anti-pipeline group Activate Virginia. " You have to be suspicious because there's a clear motive on why they would set up a bullshit front organization for PR purposes."
"Do they serve any purpose other than simply being a form of crisis communications, like a PR response?" Stanfield added. "They definitely serve a purpose simply by existing so the industry can say there's grassroots energy on our side, too, so they can make that argument and point to something as existing."
The HuffPost also obtained a second Powerpoint, which focused specifically on the Canadian pipeline company Enbridge. The October presentation, titled "Proactive Strategies for Securing Infrastructure," simply contained a few maps of the company's pipelines and several quotes from past presidents such as Lincoln and Washington. The final slide listed Your Energy as one of its supporters, under the title "sustained advocacy campaigns."
In response to the HuffPost article, Sierra Club issued this warning:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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A PowerPoint presentation by the fossil fuel industry front group Your Energy--obtained and published Tuesday by the Huffington Post--revealed an orchestrated plan to create a fake grassroots organization as a way to promote natural gas obtained through hydraulic fracturing as a safe energy source.
The August presentation, which was briefly available on the website of the American Gas Association (AGA)--which lobbies on behalf of the fracking industry--outlined the group's "astroturfing" strategy, which includes using social media to attack opponents while also reaching out to supporters and those it calls "persuadables."
The group, dubbed "Your Energy" by its creators, features a national organization plus state chapters in Virginia and Connecticut, and has the dual mission of generating support for natural gas endeavors among members of the public while also providing assistance to member companies. Its infrastructure, according to the presentation, includes a resources portal as well as a "digital war room" that tracks organized opposition to constructing more pipelines.
A key component of the group's campaign is the appearance of grassroots support, as HuffPost explains:
Your Energy now claims it has recruited roughly 10,000 supporters to advocate for its companies and counter protesters who warn that new pipelines threaten to exacerbate climate change, cause environmental damage and violate landowners' property rights. The registration number signals the organization's ramped-up effort to shore up political support for new pipeline projects and tip the scales in favor of corporations that already wield disproportionate clout.
Your Energy builds on a longstanding effort by the fossil fuel industry to paint itself as a mere ideological rival to environmental groups at the opposite end of a political horseshoe. That narrative attempts to reframe the argument against pipelines around jobs and economic development rather than environmental concerns, ignoring the power disparity between deep-pocketed corporate giants and environmental nonprofits.
However, rather than organizing demonstrations on the ground, like those who have protested day and night against the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, Your Energy's campaign seems rather contained to the internet, especially social media.
"For them, it's like, 'We have to do something, we have to counter this narrative, or at least we have to muddy the waters and make it seem like there's protests on both sides,'" said Josh Stanfield, executive director of the anti-pipeline group Activate Virginia. " You have to be suspicious because there's a clear motive on why they would set up a bullshit front organization for PR purposes."
"Do they serve any purpose other than simply being a form of crisis communications, like a PR response?" Stanfield added. "They definitely serve a purpose simply by existing so the industry can say there's grassroots energy on our side, too, so they can make that argument and point to something as existing."
The HuffPost also obtained a second Powerpoint, which focused specifically on the Canadian pipeline company Enbridge. The October presentation, titled "Proactive Strategies for Securing Infrastructure," simply contained a few maps of the company's pipelines and several quotes from past presidents such as Lincoln and Washington. The final slide listed Your Energy as one of its supporters, under the title "sustained advocacy campaigns."
In response to the HuffPost article, Sierra Club issued this warning:
A PowerPoint presentation by the fossil fuel industry front group Your Energy--obtained and published Tuesday by the Huffington Post--revealed an orchestrated plan to create a fake grassroots organization as a way to promote natural gas obtained through hydraulic fracturing as a safe energy source.
The August presentation, which was briefly available on the website of the American Gas Association (AGA)--which lobbies on behalf of the fracking industry--outlined the group's "astroturfing" strategy, which includes using social media to attack opponents while also reaching out to supporters and those it calls "persuadables."
The group, dubbed "Your Energy" by its creators, features a national organization plus state chapters in Virginia and Connecticut, and has the dual mission of generating support for natural gas endeavors among members of the public while also providing assistance to member companies. Its infrastructure, according to the presentation, includes a resources portal as well as a "digital war room" that tracks organized opposition to constructing more pipelines.
A key component of the group's campaign is the appearance of grassroots support, as HuffPost explains:
Your Energy now claims it has recruited roughly 10,000 supporters to advocate for its companies and counter protesters who warn that new pipelines threaten to exacerbate climate change, cause environmental damage and violate landowners' property rights. The registration number signals the organization's ramped-up effort to shore up political support for new pipeline projects and tip the scales in favor of corporations that already wield disproportionate clout.
Your Energy builds on a longstanding effort by the fossil fuel industry to paint itself as a mere ideological rival to environmental groups at the opposite end of a political horseshoe. That narrative attempts to reframe the argument against pipelines around jobs and economic development rather than environmental concerns, ignoring the power disparity between deep-pocketed corporate giants and environmental nonprofits.
However, rather than organizing demonstrations on the ground, like those who have protested day and night against the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, Your Energy's campaign seems rather contained to the internet, especially social media.
"For them, it's like, 'We have to do something, we have to counter this narrative, or at least we have to muddy the waters and make it seem like there's protests on both sides,'" said Josh Stanfield, executive director of the anti-pipeline group Activate Virginia. " You have to be suspicious because there's a clear motive on why they would set up a bullshit front organization for PR purposes."
"Do they serve any purpose other than simply being a form of crisis communications, like a PR response?" Stanfield added. "They definitely serve a purpose simply by existing so the industry can say there's grassroots energy on our side, too, so they can make that argument and point to something as existing."
The HuffPost also obtained a second Powerpoint, which focused specifically on the Canadian pipeline company Enbridge. The October presentation, titled "Proactive Strategies for Securing Infrastructure," simply contained a few maps of the company's pipelines and several quotes from past presidents such as Lincoln and Washington. The final slide listed Your Energy as one of its supporters, under the title "sustained advocacy campaigns."
In response to the HuffPost article, Sierra Club issued this warning:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.