If you don't know what it means:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing
"On the Internet, astroturfers use software to mask their identity. Sometimes one individual operates over many personas to give the impression of widespread support for their client's agenda.[1][2] Some studies suggest astroturfing can alter public viewpoints and create enough doubt to inhibit action.
Another technique is the use of sockpuppets, where a single person creates multiple identities online to give the appearance of grassroots support. Sockpuppets may post positive reviews about a product, attack participants that criticize the organization, or post negative reviews and comments about competitors, under fake identities.[12][23] Astroturfing businesses may pay staff based on the number of posts they make that are not flagged by moderators.[18] Persona management software may be used so that each paid poster can manage five to seventy convincing online personas without confusing them with one another."
Everyone knows MMO Champion is the number one site for WoW, and I wouldn't be surprised if it got more or just as much traffic as the main WoW site forums. It's very valuable to Blizzard that this website succeeds and get alot of traffic.
Recently there was a post about how prices are going up in the EU for faction changes, name changes, etc etc and I was surprised that people were defending it. Why would someone defend something and write out huge paragraphs over something that's blatantly an increase just to make money.
Basically, do you think Blizzard actually hires people in say... Asian or other countries to literally just sit on these forums/main WoW forums/Twitter/FB and defend them thru the thick and thin to make people think "Well, if these people are justifying increased costs, then screw it. Let it be".