Sockpuppet (Internet)
Encyclopedia
A sockpuppet is an online identity
used for purposes of deception. The term—a reference to the manipulation of a simple hand puppet
made from a sock—originally referred to a false identity assumed by a member of an internet
community who spoke to, or about himself while pretending to be another person. The term now includes other uses of misleading online identities, such as those created to praise, defend or support a third party or organization. A significant difference between the use of a pseudonym
and the creation of a sockpuppet is that the sockpuppet poses as an independent third-party unaffiliated with the puppeteer.
The term "sockpuppet" was used as early as July 9, 1993 but did not become common in USENET
groups until 1996. The first Oxford English Dictionary
example of the term, defined as "a person whose actions are controlled by another; a minion," is taken from U.S. News and World Report, March 27, 2000.
pseudonym created to make a particular point of view
look foolish or unwholesome in order to generate negative sentiment against it. Strawman sockpuppets typically behave in an unintelligent, uninformed, or bigoted manner and advance "straw man
" arguments that their puppeteers can easily refute. The intended effect is to discredit
more rational arguments made in behalf of the same position.
description of various online behaviors. The term was current before the Internet, including references in Ursula Le Guin's science fiction
story "The Diary of the Rose" (1976), the alternative rock
band Meat Puppets
, and the cyberpunk
novelist William Gibson
's Neuromancer
(1984). Editors of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia
use the term to deprecate contributions of new community members if suspected of having been recruited by an existing member to support his position. Such a recruited member is considered analogous to a sockpuppet even though he is actually a separate individual (i.e. "meat") rather than a fictitious creation. Wired
columnist Lore Sjöberg
put "meat puppet" first on a satirical list of "common terms used at Wikipedia," defining the term as "a person who disagrees with you."
Nevertheless, other online sources use the term "meatpuppet" to describe sockpuppet behaviors. For example, according to one online encyclopedia, a meat puppet "publishes comments on blogs, wikis and other public venues about some phenomenon or product in order to generate public interest and buzz"—that is, he is engaged in behavior more widely known as "astroturfing
." A 2006 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education
defined a meat puppet as "a peculiar inhabitant of the digital world—a fictional character that passes for a real person online."
s and reputation system
s, this is known as a sybil attack
.
A sockpuppet-like use of deceptive fake identities is used in stealth marketing. The stealth marketer creates one or more pseudonymous accounts, each one claiming to be owned by a different enthusiastic supporter of the sponsor's product or book or ideology. A single such sockpuppet is acting as a shill
; creating large numbers of them to fake a "grass-roots" upswelling of support for a cause is known as astroturfing
.
Online identity
An online identity, internet identity, or internet persona is a social identity that an Internet user establishes in online communities and websites...
used for purposes of deception. The term—a reference to the manipulation of a simple hand puppet
Hand puppet
A hand puppet is a type of puppet that is controlled by the leg or face that occupies the interior of the puppet. Glove puppets are a variation of hand puppets...
made from a sock—originally referred to a false identity assumed by a member of an internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
community who spoke to, or about himself while pretending to be another person. The term now includes other uses of misleading online identities, such as those created to praise, defend or support a third party or organization. A significant difference between the use of a pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
and the creation of a sockpuppet is that the sockpuppet poses as an independent third-party unaffiliated with the puppeteer.
The term "sockpuppet" was used as early as July 9, 1993 but did not become common in USENET
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
groups until 1996. The first Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
example of the term, defined as "a person whose actions are controlled by another; a minion," is taken from U.S. News and World Report, March 27, 2000.
Notable public examples
- Between 2000 and 2003, John LottJohn LottJohn Richard Lott Jr. is an American academic and political commentator. He has previously held research positions at academic institutions including the University of Chicago, Yale University, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Maryland, College Park,...
, author of More Guns, Less Crime, made numerous posts under the sockpuppet name "Mary Rosh." "Rosh" praised Lott's views and disputed with his critics on UsenetUsenetUsenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
, posting laudatory reviews of Lott's books and panning those of his rivals. Lott admitted he had used the name "Mary Rosh" to defend himself but claimed the book reviews were written by his son and wife. - Lee Siegel, a writer for The New RepublicThe New RepublicThe magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
magazine, was suspended for defending his articles and blog comments under the user name "SprezzaturaSprezzaturaSprezzatura is an Italian word originating from Baldassare Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier, where it is defined by the author as “a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it.” It is...
." In one such comment, "Sprezzatura" defended Siegel's bad reviews of Jon StewartJon StewartJon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
: "Siegel is brave, brilliant and wittier than Stewart will ever be." - In 2006, a top staffer for then-US Congressman Charlie BassCharles Foster BassCharles Foster "Charlie" Bass is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously held the seat from 1995 to 2007. He has followed the footsteps of his father, Perkins, who also represented the same New Hampshire district.-Early life and education:Bass was born...
(R-NH) was caught posing as a "concerned" supporter of Bass's opponent Democrat Paul HodesPaul HodesPaul Hodes is an attorney, musician, and the former U.S. Representative for , serving fom 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was New Hampshire's first Jewish representative....
on several liberal New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
blogs. Using the identities "IndieNH" or "IndyNH," the aide argued that DemocratsDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
might be wasting their time and money supporting Hodes, because Bass was "unbeatable." - In January 2007, Peter Ragone, the press secretary of San Francisco Mayor Gavin NewsomGavin NewsomGavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
, admitted that he had posted pro-Newsom comments to the blog SFist as "Byorn" or "John Nelson" (a friend). Ragone said "he answered Newsom's critics using others' names because being online 'was fun — it's where people are having fun." - In 2007, the CEO of Whole FoodsWhole Foods MarketWhole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
, John MackeyJohn Mackey (businessman)John Mackey is an American businessman. He is the CEO of Whole Foods Market which he had co-founded in 1980. Named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003, Mackey is a strong supporter of free market economics...
, was discovered to have posted as "Rahodeb" on the Yahoo Finance Message Board, extolling his own company and predicting a dire future for its rival, Wild Oats Markets, while concealing his relationship to both companies. - On January 13, 2009, Ben Grower, a councillorCouncillorA councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
from BournemouthBournemouthBournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
, England, was exposed by the Bournemouth Daily EchoBournemouth Daily EchoThe Bournemouth Daily Echo, commonly known as the Daily Echo, is a local newspaper that covers the area of south-east Dorset, England, including the towns of Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch...
for repeatedly posting comments praising himself and fellow LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
councillors on the newspaper's website using a number of sockpuppets including the screen name "Omegaman." When questioned, Grower was initially ambiguous but later admitted the truth of the allegations, saying "I have done nothing against the law. And probably next time I will just use a different pseudonym." - In April 2010 British historian Orlando FigesOrlando FigesOrlando Figes is a British historian of Russia, and Professor of History at Birkbeck, University of London.-Overview:Figes is the son of the feminist writer Eva Figes. His sister is the author and editor Kate Figes. He attended William Ellis School in north London from 1971-78...
was discovered to have written critical reviews of books by professional rivals on the Amazon.comAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
website under the names "orlando-birkbeck" and "historian." - In April 2011, the American cartoonist Scott AdamsScott AdamsScott Raymond Adams is the American creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, business, and general speculation....
admitted using the name "PlannedChaos" to pose as one of his fans on the link-sharing sites RedditRedditreddit is a social news website where the registered users submit content, in the form of either a link or a text "self" post. Other users then vote the submission "up" or "down," which is used to rank the post and determine its position on the site's pages and front page.Reddit was originally...
and MetaFilterMetaFilterMetaFilter, known as MeFi to its members, is a community weblog whose purpose is to share links and discuss content that users have discovered on the web.-Community:MetaFilter was founded by Matthew Haughey in 1999...
. - In September 2011, Johann HariJohann HariJohann Hari is an award winning British journalist who has been a columnist at The Independent, the The Huffington Post, and contributed to several other publications. In 2011, Hari was accused of plagiarism; he subsequently was suspended from The Independent and surrendered his 2008 Orwell Prize...
, a leading columnist for the British newspaper The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, publicly apologized for having used a pseudonym, David Rose, with Wikipedia screen name David r of Meth productions, to add positive material to the Wikipedia article about himself and negative material to Wikipedia articles about people with whom he had had disputes.
Notable state examples
- In 2011, a Californian company, NtrepidNtrepidNtrepid is an American software, hardware, and cyber security company, registered in Los Angeles and based in San Diego.-Operation Earnest Voice:...
, was awarded a $2.76 million contract under the auspices of US Central Command for "online persona management" operations with the aim of creating "fake online personas to influence net conversations and spread US propaganda" in Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and Pashto.
Strawman sockpuppet
A strawman sockpuppet is a false flagFalse flag
False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...
pseudonym created to make a particular point of view
Perspective (cognitive)
Perspective in theory of cognition is the choice of a context or a reference from which to sense, categorize, measure or codify experience, cohesively forming a coherent belief, typically for comparing with another...
look foolish or unwholesome in order to generate negative sentiment against it. Strawman sockpuppets typically behave in an unintelligent, uninformed, or bigoted manner and advance "straw man
Straw man
A straw man is a component of an argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position, twisting his words or by means of [false] assumptions...
" arguments that their puppeteers can easily refute. The intended effect is to discredit
Outgroup homogeneity bias
The outgroup homogeneity effect is one's perception of out-group members as more similar to one another than are in-group members. I.e. "they are alike; we are diverse". The outgroup homogeneity effect, or "relative outgroup homogeniety" has been explicitly contrasted with the "outgroup...
more rational arguments made in behalf of the same position.
Meatpuppet
The term "meatpuppet" (or "meat puppet") is used as a pejorativePejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
description of various online behaviors. The term was current before the Internet, including references in Ursula Le Guin's science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
story "The Diary of the Rose" (1976), the alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Meat Puppets
Meat Puppets
The Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980, in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood , his brother Cris Kirkwood , and Derrick Bostrom . The Kirkwood brothers met Bostrom while attending Brophy Prep High School in Phoenix...
, and the cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
novelist William Gibson
William Gibson
William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
's Neuromancer
Neuromancer
Neuromancer is a 1984 novel by William Gibson, a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre and the first winner of the science-fiction "triple crown" — the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was Gibson's debut novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy...
(1984). Editors of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
use the term to deprecate contributions of new community members if suspected of having been recruited by an existing member to support his position. Such a recruited member is considered analogous to a sockpuppet even though he is actually a separate individual (i.e. "meat") rather than a fictitious creation. Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
columnist Lore Sjöberg
Lore Sjöberg
Lore Christian Fitzgerald Sjöberg is an internet humorist, co-founder of the Brunching Shuttlecocks humor website and author of The Book of Ratings...
put "meat puppet" first on a satirical list of "common terms used at Wikipedia," defining the term as "a person who disagrees with you."
Nevertheless, other online sources use the term "meatpuppet" to describe sockpuppet behaviors. For example, according to one online encyclopedia, a meat puppet "publishes comments on blogs, wikis and other public venues about some phenomenon or product in order to generate public interest and buzz"—that is, he is engaged in behavior more widely known as "astroturfing
Astroturfing
Astroturfing is a form of advocacy in support of a political, organizational, or corporate agenda, designed to give the appearance of a "grassroots" movement. The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political and/or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some...
." A 2006 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty, staff members and administrators....
defined a meat puppet as "a peculiar inhabitant of the digital world—a fictional character that passes for a real person online."
Ballot stuffing
Sockpuppets may be created during an online poll to submit multiple votes in favor of the puppeteer. A related usage is creating multiple identities, each supporting the puppeteer's views in an argument, attempting to position the puppeteer as representing majority opinion and sideline opposition voices. In the abstract theory of social networkSocial network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
s and reputation system
Reputation system
A reputation system computes and publishes reputation scores for a set of objects within a community or domain, based on a collection of opinions that other entities hold about the objects...
s, this is known as a sybil attack
Sybil attack
The Sybil attack in computer security is an attack wherein a reputation system is subverted by forging identities in peer-to-peer networks. It is named after the subject of the book Sybil, a fictional case study of a woman with multiple personality disorder...
.
A sockpuppet-like use of deceptive fake identities is used in stealth marketing. The stealth marketer creates one or more pseudonymous accounts, each one claiming to be owned by a different enthusiastic supporter of the sponsor's product or book or ideology. A single such sockpuppet is acting as a shill
Shill
A shill, plant or stooge is a person who helps a person or organization without disclosing that he or she has a close relationship with that person or organization...
; creating large numbers of them to fake a "grass-roots" upswelling of support for a cause is known as astroturfing
Astroturfing
Astroturfing is a form of advocacy in support of a political, organizational, or corporate agenda, designed to give the appearance of a "grassroots" movement. The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political and/or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some...
.
U.S. legal implications of sockpuppeting
- In 2008, 49-year-old Missouri resident Lori Drew was prosecuted and convicted in Los AngelesUnited States v. Lori DrewUnited States v. Lori Drew was a criminal case in which Lori Drew was convicted and then subsequently acquitted of violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act over the "cyber-bullying" of a 13 year old, Megan Meier...
for creating a MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
account on which she claimed to be a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans. Drew's goal had been to create a relationship with Megan MeierSuicide of Megan MeierMegan Taylor Meier , was an American teenager from Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, who committed suicide by hanging three weeks before her fourteenth birthday. A year later, Meier's parents prompted an investigation into the matter and her suicide was attributed to cyber-bullying through the social...
, a 13-year-old girl who had been in conflict with Drew's daughter. After "Josh" ended the relationship with Megan, Megan killed herself. Drew was convicted for misrepresenting her identity, in violation of the MySpace terms of service. The Los Angeles U.S. AttorneyUnited States District Court for the Central District of CaliforniaThe United States District Court for the Central District of California serves over 18 million people in southern and central California, making it the largest federal judicial district by population...
successfully claimed that this was covered by federal computer fraud legislation against "accessing a computer without authorization via interstate commerce." Drew appealed the verdict, arguing that her use of a false identity did not constitute unauthorized access to MySpace, based on a 1973 breach of contractBreach of contractBreach of contract is a legal cause of action in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
dispute where a court of appeals ruled that "fraudulently induced consent is consent nonetheless." On 3 July 2009, the appeal was tentatively upheld.
- In 2010, Raphael Golb was convicted on 30 of 31 counts, including identity theft, criminal impersonation, and aggravated harassment, for using multiple sockpuppet accounts to attack and impersonate historians he perceived as rivals of his father, Norman GolbNorman GolbNorman Golb is the Ludwig Rosenberger Professor in Jewish History and Civilization at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. He earned his PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1954. He joined the faculty of the Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati in 1958 before settling at the...
. Golb defended his actions as "satirical hoaxes" protected by free-speech rights. He was disbarred and sentenced to six months in prison but remains free on appeal on $25,000 bail.
See also
- AstroturfingAstroturfingAstroturfing is a form of advocacy in support of a political, organizational, or corporate agenda, designed to give the appearance of a "grassroots" movement. The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political and/or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some...
- False flagFalse flagFalse flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...
- On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dogOn the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog"On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog" is an adage which began as the caption of a cartoon by Peter Steiner published by The New Yorker on July 5, 1993. The cartoon features two dogs: one sitting on a chair in front of a computer, speaking the caption to a second dog sitting on the floor...
- Online reputation
- Passing (sociology)
- ShillShillA shill, plant or stooge is a person who helps a person or organization without disclosing that he or she has a close relationship with that person or organization...
- Troll (Internet)Troll (Internet)In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response...
External links
- Sock puppet at Jargon FileJargon FileThe Jargon File is a glossary of computer programmer slang. The original Jargon File was a collection of terms from technical cultures such as the MIT AI Lab, the Stanford AI Lab and others of the old ARPANET AI/LISP/PDP-10 communities, including Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Carnegie Mellon...