Astroturfing, It is the latest buzz word used by anyone with a weak defense.

I see this term used as a last ditch effort  constantly when the opposing side (that would be anti nuclear energy in my case) can not dispute the facts presented. It is a tactic that seeks to discredit the person when discrediting the facts is impossible. In my years promoting nuclear energy as safe,clean and abundant I have been personally verbally attacked ,  my family has been threatened, I have been called every name you could imagine yet nothing irritates me more than the dismissive comment "Astroturfer". It is akin to the hand in the air "Whatever" comment I used to get from from my children when they could not defend themselves for some misdeed that I was aware of. It is a juvenile response to authority ( intellectually or physically) that I now find myself ,amongst others, having to deal with again. I follow nuclear energy very closely weather it is news,tweets,facebook,etc and I constantly challenge any facts I see as distorted or outright lies and  what I have learned is the anti nuclear contingent will use any tactic they can to further their agenda. They will use the emotional sides of good people as fodder to feed off their fears and insecurities, they will use mothers as willing pawns by raising their maternal instincts to a height unimagined with suggestions of horrible deaths for their children and they will use children as a shield to any retorts.Granted this is the most extreme of anti nuclear opponents tactics but I see it time and again. It is becoming all to familiar. Still, the term astroturfer stands out among them all. If you find yourself being called that you must understand that you have made a point that your opponent can NOT dispute or discredit. Maybe with time others will see it also.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing