Astro-turfing is a term that describes corporate-funded PR campaigns that create the artificial impression  of having sprung from spontaneous grass roots support — hence the reference to fake grass.

Angryrenter.com is such a site. It is set up to encourage people to lobby against the U.S. Government bailing out people that can’t keep up with increasing mortgage payments.

Thing is, the site wasn’t set up by angry renters. As reported in this Wall St. Journal story:

Angry they may be, but the people behind AngryRenter.com are certainly not renters. Though it purports to be a spontaneous uprising, AngryRenter.com is actually a product of an inside-the-Beltway conservative advocacy organization led by Dick Armey, the former House majority leader, and publishing magnate Steve Forbes, a fellow Republican.

Is it sneaky? Perhaps. But the people behind the site are unapologetic.

[Organizing Group] FreedomWorks puts its copyright on AngryRenter.com and discloses on the back pages that it is the source of the effort. The site is nonetheless designed to look underdoggy and grass-rootsy, with a heavy dose of aw-shucks innocence.

“Unfortunately, renters aren’t as good at politics as the small minority of homeowners (and their bankers) who are in trouble,” the site says. “We don’t have lobbyists in Washington, DC. We don’t get a tax deduction for our rent and we don’t get sweetheart government loans.”