Astroturf. Featured prominently in the cookie-cutter stadiums of the 60s and 70s, it is a pale imitation of the natural grass fields it replaced and attempted to resemble. In today's lexicon, astroturfing has taken on a whole new meaning: industry groups masquerading as grassroots consumer movements, usually on the Internet.

The practice of industry groups setting up faux-grassroots organizations seems to have accelerated lately, and as we have mentioned before, have become even more 'net-savvy.

Our latest exercise in astroturfing comes courtesy of the American Consumer Institute. In its press release, the group tries to score points with consumers leery of corporate welfare by helpfully pointing out that the biggest companies favoring net neutrality legislation are financially powerful, earn supracompetitive returns and have significant market power.

The ACI then concludes that in the minds of informed consumers, there should be serious questions as to how government-mandated price and service regulation will benefit the American public. Not surprising from a group that equates net neutrality with requir[ing] consumers to pay the full costs of upgrading the next generation broadband network.

A new report from the non-profit group Common Cause details the ways that industry groups are setting up fake grassroots organizations (aka "astroturf" organizations) to join the fight against Net neutrality legislation. Five such groups are profiled in the newly released report, entitled Wolves in Sheep's Clothing, Part 2: More Telecom Industry Front Groups and Astroturf. Part 1 of the series was released back in March.