Planting the seeds for Astroturf in Farmville

Perhaps those of you on Facebook have tired of the countless spam about how someone you sat next to in 10th grade English owns a cow in Farmville now, or they gathered some sticks or other thrilling farm-related adventures. Farmville, for those of you who are unclear, is essentially a farming simulation on Facebook, where users earn virtual currency to buy crops and other objects for their virtual fields. In these games, however, virtual currency is also attainable through completing offers through third-parties, such as trying a trial subscription to NetFlix, or completing surveys online.

Recently, there has appeared as an option a survey for Farmville users to fill out in regards to opposing health care reform, which upon completion sends a form letter to the user's congressional representative stating their opposition to said reform. The user then recieves their Farmville dollars and can go back to picking their strawberries. The implications of this sort of behavior are somewhat troubling. Basically, it generates a sense of false concern by essentially spamming the mailboxes of representatives with misleading letters, making any kind of anti-health care movement seem far larger than it is.

Despite what anyone's view on the health care debate is, this practice is clearly as unethical as if they were being paid real currency to sign their name to a form letter to their Congressperson. Such practices are reprehensible due to the fact that they obfuscate how people genuinely feel, and only hurt the process by furthering the agenda of a well-connected, well-funded group such as the people behind this Farmville exploitation.