| Greenpeace Urges 'Astroturfing' To Counter Revelation Of Lies |
| Written by Phelim McAleer & Ann McElhinney |
| Thursday, 20 August 2009 13:25 |
Greenpeace is scrambling to explain away an embarrassing admission by its outgoing executive director that the group exaggerated a statement about melting Arctic ice and "emotionalizes" issues to sway public opinion. On its blog, Greenpeace tried to cover-up the admission by Gerd Leipold as the work of "the handful of global warming skeptics still standing." In an attempt to "astroturf" (create a false impression of a grassroots response to an issue), Greenpeace urged online followers to spread its cover-up "clarification" via social media tools like blogs, Twitter and Facebook. Environmental and left-wing organizations often accuse conservative groups of astroturfing on contentious issues. Dozens of blogs, including Big Hollywood, Instapundit, Hot Air and Power Line, have linked to the story about Greenpeace's admission, which was first revealed on the "Not Evil Just Wrong" blog yesterday, and embedded the key video clips from the BBC segment. In the interview, Leipold said his organization's recent claim that the Arctic ice will disappear by 2030 was "a mistake." "I don't think it will be melting by 2030," he said. BBC reporter Stephen Sackur accused Leipold and Greenpeace of releasing "misleading information" and using "exaggeration and alarmism," but Leipold defended the group's tactics as a necessity to convince people of its views on global warming. (To learn more about Greenpeace-style global warming hysteria, watch "Not Evil Just Wrong.")
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