How the Health Insurance Industry Is Funding Incentives and Rewards to Lure Letters to Congress Opposing Health Care Reform

Inside The Hot New Astroturf Trend: Emails To Congress Aren't What They Seem


By Zachary Roth
TPM Muckraker
December 15, 2009, 1:08PM

In the world of astroturf lobbying, forged letters and fake rallies are getting kind of passé. Here's what the real experts are doing...

Last week, we learned that online gamers can earn virtual currency by sending emails to Congress opposing health-care reform, stemming from a campaign by a health-insurance lobby group. The news of the scheme, reported by Gawker and the AP, suggests that at least some of the anti-reform emails lawmakers have received are something less than authentic expressions of grassroots passion, since they're being sent by people who have been incentivized to get involved through the offer of rewards.

In response, the insurance industry group behind the anti-reform campaign has claimed ignorance. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which runs the insurers' coalition in whose name the emails were sent, said in a statement that under its contract with the advertising firm running the campaign, "the use of incentivized ads is strictly prohibited."

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