sockpuppet
sockpuppet Lexical Profile
sockpuppet Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A false online identity or secondary user account created to deceive others, manipulate public opinion, or praise, defend, or support the creator's primary identity.
"The forum moderators banned him after discovering he was using a sockpuppet to upvote his own arguments."
A simple hand puppet made from a sock worn over the hand and forearm, with the opening and closing of the hand simulating a talking mouth.
"The children glued plastic eyes onto an old wool sock to make a colorful sockpuppet for their classroom play."
A person whose actions or statements are entirely controlled by another; a mouthpiece or pawn.
"Critics dismissed the newly appointed spokesperson as a mere sockpuppet for the corporation's executives."
• verb
To create or use a false online identity in order to deceive others, manipulate discussions, or circumvent restrictions.
"Several editors were suspended from the wiki after an investigation proved they had been sockpuppeting to sway community votes."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in internet slang in the early 1990s as a compound of 'sock' and 'puppet', drawing a metaphor from a simple hand puppet worn on the hand to speak in a disguised voice.