Astroturf lobbying refers to the simulation of grassroots support for or against a public policy. The objective of this tactic is for private interests to pretend they have public support for their cause. However, omitting to disclose the real sponsor of a message renders the communication unauthentic and undermines democratic and pluralist values. This article seeks to develop a method to detect astroturf movements based on emphasis framing analysis. The hypothesis is that astroturf groups employ different frames than genuine grassroots movements to comply with the private interests they truly represent. The results of the case study on the shale gas exploration debate in the United States show that astroturf groups used frames that differed significantly from authentic non-governmental organizations, which allowed their detection.

草地草坪游说是指基层支持或反对公共政策的模拟。该策略的目的是让私人利益假装他们对自己的事业有公众支持。但是，如果不透露消息的真正赞助者，则会使沟通变得不真实，并破坏民主和多元化的价值观。本文力求开发一种基于强调框架分析的检测草皮运动的方法。假设是，与真正的草根运动相比，草皮运动组织采用不同的框架来遵守他们真正代表的私人利益。美国页岩气勘探辩论的案例研究结果表明，草皮小组使用的框架与真正的非政府组织有很大不同，从而可以对其进行检测。