sock puppets
Footwear-shaped performers
Sock puppets are fake online identities created to deceive.
The term comes from the children's toy—a sock with a face drawn on it, animated by a hand inside.
Online, a sock puppet is an account someone uses to praise themselves, attack critics, or create the illusion of grassroots support: The company was caught using sock puppets to post fake reviews.
The plural also refers to the toy.
Pretending to be another
- aliasesAlternate assumed identities
- catfishingDeceiving via false identity
- astroturfingDisguised sponsored advocacy
- shillsPaid fake endorsers
sockpuppetry · alter egos · pseudonyms · burner accounts · fake profiles · dummy accounts · throwaway accounts · anonymous accounts
Provoking reactions online
- astroturfingDisguised sponsored advocacy
- disinformationIntentional deceptive falsehoods
- propagandaBiased information for influence
- amplificationIncrease in intensity
brigading · vote manipulation · fake followers · signal boosting · mass reporting
Compressed fiber textile
- button eyesCraft supplies as pupils
- googly eyesLoose-pupil craft decorations
- glueBonding substance
- fabric markersPens for coloring cloth
yarn · craft supplies · storytelling · classroom activities · washable markers · decoration · sewing · craft kits
impersonation
Pretending to be another
- aliasesAlternate assumed identities
- catfishingDeceiving via false identity
- astroturfingDisguised sponsored advocacy
shills · sockpuppetry · alter egos · pseudonyms · burner accounts · fake profiles · dummy accounts · throwaway accounts · anonymous accounts
trolling
Provoking reactions online
- astroturfingDisguised sponsored advocacy
- disinformationIntentional deceptive falsehoods
- propagandaBiased information for influence
amplification · brigading · vote manipulation · fake followers · signal boosting · mass reporting
felt
Compressed fiber textile
- button eyesCraft supplies as pupils
- googly eyesLoose-pupil craft decorations
- glueBonding substance
fabric markers · yarn · craft supplies · storytelling · classroom activities · washable markers · decoration · sewing · craft kits
- kids playplaytime, playing, board games, blocks, card games
- kids craftsfinger paint, finger painting, crayons, coloring, construction paper
- puppetrymarionette, marionettes, puppeteers, marionette strings, Bunraku
- baby playpeek-a-boo, peekaboo, pat-a-cake, patty-cake, rattles
- animated figurescartoon character, cartoon characters, marionette, marionettes, toons
- Digital Ethicsprivacy, data privacy, cyberbullying, misinformation, disinformation
sock puppetsmarionettes
String-controlled theatrical figures
string puppets · shadow puppets · animatronics · hand puppets · finger puppets
sock, puppet, puppets, puppetry, puppeteer, hand puppet, puppeteering, sock puppet, glove puppet