AAUW learned in early August through news reports that our name was being forged in letters to Congressional representatives. These letters were meant to appear to be written from members of organizations comprising grassroots networks. In AAUW’s case, the letter (PDF) was sent from a Charlottesville, Virginia, branch, which is not even in existence. Furthermore, the AAUW logo was forged and placed on the fraudulent letterhead, and the letter was signed by a deceased AAUW member. The forgery even hit a personal note for an AAUW staff member as well.
What were these forged letters lobbying Congress about? Clean coal! That’s right — as AAUW mentioned in our statement on August 6, “An agent of Bonner & Associates — through its work with the Hawthorn Group and the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity — forged one or more letters from AAUW to members of Congress. Other well-known organizations were similarly targeted. The goal was to further the coal industry’s lobbying efforts against the Clean Energy and Security Act, also known as the ‘cap and trade’ legislation.”
This “AstroTurf” (or fake grassroots) campaign, an act of blatant fraud, has caught the attention of Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), chair of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, who had scheduled a hearing today to further investigate the fraudulent letters. (It has been rescheduled for some time next week.) AAUW supports investigations into this matter and urges Congress to take action against deceitful tactics.
What’s really ridiculous about this incident is that AAUW does not lobby Congress about energy policy — we focus on issues affecting equity for women and girls. AAUW staff and members are indignant and outraged that our name and reputation would be co-opted to oppose an energy issue that we do not even advocate. Fortunately, it seemed as though some environmental bloggers were just as shocked and upset as we were.
It’s important to note that these acts defying our democracy may happen more than people are aware. This time they were used to lobby against energy policy, but other issues could fall victim to fraudulent, AstroTurf-style practices as well. AAUW empathizes with the other organizations affected by these forged letters, and we will certainly be on the lookout for these kinds of activities in case there are any attempts to wrongly use AAUW’s good name again.
