Exposed: Impersonation Accounts, Fake Members, and the PR Machine Behind ‘Yes for the Fairgrounds’ Facebook Group

On March 17th, a new Facebook group appeared claiming to represent “the silent majority” of Leominster who support The Fairgrounds project. It’s called “Yes for the Fairgrounds.” But before you take their messaging at face value, you deserve to know the truth behind who’s actually running the show—and how far they’re willing to go to manufacture support.

🎭 A Fake Profile to Lead a Fake Movement

One of the earliest red flags? The group’s most active contributor and de facto moderator is a Facebook profile named Michael PreT ston—a clear and deliberate impersonation of a local opposition voice named Michael Preston.

That’s not a typo. It’s intentional deception, and it’s a classic astroturf move: create a fake grassroots persona to hijack credibility. The developers and/or their hired PR firm didn’t just create a support group—they built it on identity manipulation.

Let’s call it what it is: a fraud campaign designed to confuse residents and simulate community enthusiasm.

📉 Manufactured Buzz, Weak Results

Despite their effort to appear like a growing movement:

• The group only has 118 members (as of 3/20/25), many of whom don’t even live in Leominster.
• Most posts are made or commented on by the same 4–5 individuals, often tagging one another to simulate momentum.
• Members are repeatedly asked to “invite friends” and “boost numbers”—a clear sign that organic growth isn’t happening.

Meanwhile, the real community opposition tells a very different story:

• The Facebook group “No Horse Racing in Leominster, MA” has 276 members and growing daily.
• A Change.org petition opposing the racetrack has over 1,100 signatures.
• Over the weekend, Leominster residents easily gathered more than 240+ signatures for a petition to ban horse and dog racing in the city altogether.

The numbers don’t lie—but the “Yes” campaign is counting on the fact that you won’t dig into them.

🧪 Testing Messages in a Closed Loop

What’s actually happening inside the astroturf group? They’re test-driving narratives and fishing for talking points that might stick.

Posts include:

• Claims about “hundreds of jobs” and “millions in revenue” (with no documentation)
• Shifts in focus from horse racing to Airbnb, equestrian events, and yard sales (yes, really)
• Attempts to reframe the racetrack as a “festival venue” or “community gathering space”

This isn’t community conversation. It’s message engineering in a PR echo chamber.

🚨 Why This Matters

Deception this early in a campaign sets the tone for what’s to come. If a developer has to impersonate accounts and fake public support just to gain traction, what else are they willing to say and do?

You deserve:

• Real transparency—not impersonation accounts
• Authentic voices—not scripted testimonials
• Verified facts—not inflated projections

The Bottom Line: This Isn’t a Grassroots Effort—It’s a PR Campaign in Disguise

We’re not fooled—and you shouldn’t be either.

The Fairgrounds project has yet to win over Leominster because residents are asking smart questions and demanding real answers. These kinds of tactics only reinforce what we already know: the support isn’t real—because the project doesn’t stand on its own.

We’ll keep exposing the facts. You keep asking the right questions.

---