The Heartland Institute, an astroturf organization that has consistently attacked the freedom of communities to set up their own broadband networks, has gotten into a heap of trouble with its corporate sponsors over a billboard ad that compares climate change believers to serial killer, Ted Kaczynski. According to The Guardian, “[t]wo dozen insurance companies, including US giant State Farm, announced an end to support for Heartland because of the billboard. The ad, which ran for just a day on a Chicago expressway, featured an image of the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, and the caption: “I still believe in global warming. Do you?” The drop-off in funds could wreck Heartland’s ambitious plans of increasing its fundraising by 67% in 2012, from $4.6m to $7.7m.”
By the way, FreePress has an interactive tool at www.freepress.net/astroturf that allows you to track astroturf (fake grassroots) organizations and the massive amounts of money that phone and cable companies spend on lobbyists and campaign contributions. It puts a spotlight on the sleazy activities of groups like FreedomWorks, Americans for Prosperity, NetCompetition and the Heartland Institute.
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