"Astroturfing" is a useful term.

This blogger first published a version of this story last October. If it makes you feel better, CNN didn't pick up his story, either.

You also see things like this in news stories, where some highly-opinionated "off the street" person is interviewed, with little more information, and further examination shows later that this "average person" is, in fact, a long-term activist. In fact, a little research sometimes reveals that this same "average person" often shows up in more than one story over time.

BTW, there are a lot of stories on "Truthout.org" that even CNN won't touch. There's a reason for this.