Al Gore's Reality Drop site "cost a few hundred thousand dollars to develop"; skeptics are allegedly using "sophisticated automated software systems that use fake personas" to submit comments to DeSmogBlog

Climate Hawks Go on Offense Against Skeptics, but Impact Uncertain | InsideClimate News

"We realized the other side's very aggressive, offensive strategy to foster skepticism was having a major impact," said Maggie Fox, CEO of the Climate Reality Project. "Addressing the comment wars seemed like a good place to start fighting back."

The Reality Drop site was created with pro bono help from advertising agency Arnold Worldwide and cost a few hundred thousand dollars to develop.
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The Gore group is up against a large, sophisticated and well-funded adversary.
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Last month also saw the launch of another effort that the New York Times called "a blunt instrument in the climate war," a film that minces no words with its title, "Greedy Lying Bastards."
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The movie, produced by actor and environmentalist Daryl Hannah, has yet to bring in box office returns—it made just $45,000 during its opening weekend—despite receiving positive reviews from the New York Times, Washington Post, Hollywood Reporter and Variety, among others.
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"Posts on climate are like fresh meat dumped on the Serengeti," said Andrew Revkin, a journalist who writes the Dot Earth blog for the New York Times. "The rudeness ebbs and builds ... Sometimes I smack it down by rejecting comments at a heavier pace or yelling like a teacher at unruly students."
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Brendan DeMelle, managing editor of DeSmog Blog, a website dedicated to exposing climate skeptics, said he believes comments are sometimes posted through sophisticated automated software systems that use fake personas, allowing few people to appear as many. "When I get notified that 20 or 40 comments are posted almost simultaneously on a story, that's a clear indicator that someone is using a system like that," DeMelle said.

Skeptic groups deny engaging in comment campaigns.