Talk:Sock puppet account

Why 'sockpuppet' and not just 'puppet'?

Does anyone know why (whoever) called these accounts "sockpuppet" originally and not just 'puppet' accounts? "Sockpuppets" reference something cute, and these "puppet" accounts aren't cute. Thank you 2600:1700:B9C0:DCA0:F174:D3FC:B508:7564 (talk) 15:34, 16 January 2023 (UTC) E.S.

Because there is both sockpuppets and meatpuppets. Qwer2025 (talk) 08:37, 25 April 2024 (UTC)

"Socking" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect Socking has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2023 December 14 § Socking until a consensus is reached. Skarmory (talk • contribs) 16:29, 14 December 2023 (UTC)

Shift of meaning?

If "using a fake account for the purpose of shaping public opinion", then what do you call the pre-code meaning of "using real accounts and their owner to shape public opinion, paid or otherwise, as if putting one's hand into him and control his creative output, see also Cue card and Teleprompter"?

A shill? And did the meaning shift because someone put his or her hand into the Wikipedia article to withhold from public opinion that it refers mostly to corporate media? 31.17.249.203 (talk) 04:22, 28 May 2024 (UTC)

Misspelling

I don't know if anyone else caught this, but Metacritic is misspelled as Metactitic, and it is just driving me crazy a bit every time I see it on the page. I'm not currently able to edit the page and fix it myself, however. If someone could please go in and fix that, I'd appreciate it. Swifturtle the Comet (talk) 01:52, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

Fixed. Danbloch (talk) 03:35, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

Evading blocks as sockpuppetry

Should we put evading account blocks in the “examples of sockpuppetry” section? Wikbehere (talk) 01:43, 15 April 2026 (UTC)

Requested move 16 September 2026

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: not moved. (closed by non-admin page mover) Jeffrey34555 (talk) 00:36, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

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Sock puppet account → Alt accountAlt account – Or alternatively Burner account. Sockpuppetry is a somewhat archaic term for the practice, and the these things are typically called alt accounts or simply alts. The term burner account is also used. Ngrams shows that both alt account and burner account eclipse "sock puppet account", while "sockpuppet account" doesn't even register. Google Trends shows that alt and burner accounts regularly outpace both the single and double-worded variants of sockpuppet, which bear in mind exclude the term account, meaning that those are the results for sock puppets in general. I know on Wikipedia, we refer to them as WP:SOCKPUPPETS, but we shouldn't be letting that determine the title per WP:NAVEL and also since the encyclopedia is supposed to be for our readers first. Either alt or burner is fine by me; alt seems to be the default in colloquial discourse, but may be considered informal compared to burner. — Knightoftheswords(talk) 17:52, 16 September 2026 (UTC)

• Leaning against. As stated in the article, these are two different things, where one is a subset of the other. The article is devoted to alt accounts that are used for deception, abuse, crime, etc., not all alt accounts. —⁠ ⁠BarrelProof (talk) 19:47, 16 September 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose. "Alt account" is not an exact synonym here, and should be tagged as "R with possibilities". The Ngram cited by OP seems to favour "burner account" rather than the proposed title, although again this is not a true synonym. 162 etc. (talk) 22:49, 16 September 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose as our article lead says neither alt nor burner account is a synonym of sock puppet account. This article is about sock puppets. I'm not sure of any commonly used alternative name for this concept and it is widely used outside of Wikipedia as well. Also tagging alt account with R with possibilities and changing alternative name to related topic. Skynxnex (talk) 16:41, 17 September 2026 (UTC)

  Oppose Sockpuppetry is the misuse of multiple accounts. Sockpuppets can be used for block evasion and other prohibited purposes. It's unlikely that the article will be moved. (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠) Zahrazamedahmedi (🗨️My Talk Page🗨️) (🫗My Mistakes🫗) 02:45, 18 September 2026 (UTC)

Speedy close. There is no real possibility of this move occuring, as sockpuppets serve a different purpose from alt accounts. guninvalid (talk) 04:26, 18 September 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose per the above comments. It might make sense to have a separate article on the topic of alt accounts, however. Jessintime (talk) 12:23, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.