For years, the tech giants and organizations they fund have pushed op-eds from small-business owners, think tanks, and academics into US newspapers without disclosing their involvement.

The op-eds, which advance the tech giants’ policy positions, make it seem like they have more public support than they actually do — and that’s exactly the point. Their aim is to persuade lawmakers and regulators that the people they purportedly hurt prefer the status quo. And perhaps some do. But when no one knows you’re behind an article, it’s easier to press the case.

“It’s common practice,” one former Google communications professional told Big Technology. “The way democracy is supposed to work is you pay less heed to a corporation. But a local small business that has ten employees? That goes much further.”

In the policy world, planting op-eds from “independent” third parties is so common it has a name: “Grasstops,” a word derived from grassroots. Grasstops advocacy is not limited to the tech giants, but these companies and their allies are especially adept at using the practice to fight off regulation. As antitrust inquiries against them build in the U.S., it’s worth reading op-eds supporting their positions with healthy skepticism.

“It was always baffling to me that this was so natural,” the ex-Googler said. “By 2012, I couldn’t open an op-ed page without being like — Okay, who’s actually behind that?”

A second tech giant communications pro described the process: “They’re always written by the company, edited by whomever they’re affixing the name to, and sent back and forth,” the person said. “Eventually they get it to where they want, and the company places the article.”

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