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A sockpuppet is a fake online identity used to promote an individual or organization’s work or opinions. It can be used for trolling, astroturfing, false flag efforts, or as a shill to promote a product or service. The term originates from a hand puppet made from a sock and was coined in 1993 by Dana Rollins.
A sockpuppet is a false online identity created by an individual or organization for the purpose of discussing or promoting that individual or organization’s work or opinions. Sockpuppets appear on Internet message boards, discussion forums, product review sites, and other Internet communities. A sockpuppet could also be an individual who has more than one account on an online forum and uses one of those accounts to post anonymously.
The term “sockpuppet” has its origins in the most popular definition of the word, which denotes a hand puppet made from a sock. Socks online involves someone speaking through a fictional character in much the same way a real sock puppet operates. The term was coined and first used by a LISTSERV user named Dana Rollins in 1993. It has since become an increasingly common word in online communities to describe those who engage in Internet trolling and other forms of deception virtual.
There are several types of online cheating directly related to and associated with puppets. Astroturfing, for example, is a campaign launched by an organization to boost the online reputation of a new idea, product or person. The expression gives the impression that the popularity of the idea, product or person is the result of a grassroots rally, when, in reality, the entire campaign is a meticulously orchestrated PR operation. In this case, a puppet would create false online identities to boast about the effectiveness or benefits of the subject’s agenda.
False flag efforts are created to mislead the public as to the true nature of an idea, product, or person. With false flag situations, a puppet could create a fictitious character to mislead the masses as to the subject’s exact intentions. This shady act could be done to increase profits, improve a tarnished reputation, or as a means of garnering support for a questionable cause.
A sockpuppet can also come in the guise of an internet hack. A shill is an assumed role in which someone claims to be a satisfied user of a particular product or service when they actually have an interest, financial or otherwise, in the indicated product or service. In this scenario, a sockpuppet uses an online identity to ask for recommendations about a product or service, then logs in with another identity and responds with a recommendation for a specific company, singing that company’s praises with the hopes of generating more business.
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