Sockpuppets may be created during an online poll to increase the puppeteer's votes. One reason for sockpuppeting is to circumvent a block, ban, or other form of sanction imposed on the person's original account. Types Block evasion įurther information: Block (Internet) § Evasion In August and September 2015, the WMF uncovered another group of sockpuppets known as Orangemoody. On October 21, 2013, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) condemned paid advocacy sockpuppeting on Wikipedia and, two days later on October 23, specifically banned Wiki-PR editing of Wikipedia.

Wikipedia has had a long history of problems with sockpuppetry. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term without reference to the internet, as 'a person whose actions are controlled by another a minion' with a 2000 citation from U.S. Writers Walt Whitman and Anthony Burgess wrote pseudonymous reviews of their own books, as did Benjamin Franklin. The practice of writing pseudonymous self-reviews began before the Internet. Sock puppets are unwelcome in many online communities and forums. Sock puppets include online identities created to praise, defend, or support a person or organization, to manipulate public opinion, or to circumvent restrictions such as viewing a social media account that a user is blocked from.

The term originally referred to a hand puppet made from a sock. In Internet terms, sock puppets are online identities used for disguised activity by the operator.Ī sock puppet is a false online identity used for deceptive purposes. For information about sockpuppetry on Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Sockpuppetry.

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