Astroturfing: corporate interests disguised as spontaneous popular movements [4341]

"The term 'astroturfing' is a play on the term 'grassroots movement,' since the grass is fake. Astroturfing has been attempted by online businesses who present a product as being highly desired and sought out by a certain customer base via company-sponsored message board posts, blogs or articles when there is no evidence to support such an assertion."

(BigCommerce)