New Additions:

2014 Thinkst Investigation into Building Effective Sock Puppets

PDF WARNING: https:// thinkst.com/stuff/hitb2014/Thinkst_2014_SockPuppets.pdf | https://archive.fo/TC0pq

This one is a long read but quite interesting and worth it -- I strongly recommend it if you find the time. It covers many topics and testing phases/mediums and illustrates the ease and difficulties of using sockpuppets to manipulate online discussion in various contexts.

Some highlights:

A more serious case, was that of the user HamBaconEggs on the site CommonDreams. HamBaconEggs was one of many sock puppet 10 accounts posting heavily anti-Semetic comments that discouraged some funders from the site.

Further investigation exposed the pro-Israel US post-graduate student behind this campaign and brought it to an end. (This highlights that sock puppetry and false flag operations make for common bedfellows.)

Trickle down-voting

To down-vote without causing this uproar[, experienced when our mass-voting was obvious,] we tried a variation — “trickle down-voting”. The mass down-vote strategy threw every sock puppet at each new link, keeping its score well below zero, but this was noticeable.

A refinement of the technique was to keep the score as close to zero as possible; this meant that each new post’s score had to be monitored and as soon as up-votes were detected, our sock puppets were dispatch to counteract it with a down-vote.

We ran this for several days without users noticing, and was considered a success.

Table of contents

1. New Additions
2. Introduction to terms and case studies
3. Operation Earnest Voice
4. Sockpuppets and Israel
5. 2013 Turkey: Government Forms 6,000-Member Social Media Team

Introduction to terms and case studies

Astroturfing short definition:

Astroturfing is the practice of masking the sponsors of a message or organization (e.g., political, advertising, religious or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by grassroots participants. It is a practice intended to give the statements or organizations credibility by withholding information about the source's financial connection.

Sockpuppet short defitnion:

A sockpuppet is an online identity used for purposes of deception. The term, a reference to the manipulation of a simple hand puppet made from a sock, originally referred to a false identity assumed by a member of an Internet community who spoke to, or about, themselves while pretending to be another person.[1]

The term now includes other misleading uses of online identities, such as those created to praise, defend or support a person or organization,[2] to manipulate public opinion,[3] or to circumvent a suspension or ban from a website.

Crowd-renting short (loose) definition:

The use of paid (or otherwise incentivized) "actors" for the purpose of "astroturfing", part of which may include supporting or protesting/disrupting, and manufacturing of both, a person, organization, business/political interests, other agendas, etc. May also include online activities and the use of sockpuppets.

Case studies included in above link:

• Anthony Weiner & Crowds On Demand.
• HBGary etal vs. Wikileaks & Anonymous.

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Operation Earnest Voice

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Earnest_Voice | https://archive.fo/hLGuk

Operation Earnest Voice is an astroturfing campaign by the US government.[1] The aim of the initiative is to use sockpuppets to spread pro-American propaganda on social networking sites based outside of the US.[2][3][4][5] The campaign is operated by the United States Military Central Command (CENTCOM), thought to have been directed at jihadists across Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries the Middle East.[2]

According to CENTCOM, the US-based Facebook and Twitter networks are not targeted by the program because US laws prohibit state agencies from spreading propaganda among US citizens as according to the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012.[6] However, according to the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, dissemination of foreign propaganda to domestic audiences is expressly allowed over the internet including social media networks.[7] Isaac R. Porche, a researcher at the RAND corporation, claims it would not be easy to exclude US audiences when dealing with internet communications.[5]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ntrepid | https://archive.fo/h6dnE

In March 2011, Ntrepid won a $2.76 million contract from the U.S. military for "online persona management."[2] The contract was for the creation of technology which would allow for blogging activities on websites, exclusively outside of the United States, to "counter violent extremist and enemy propaganda."[6][8] It would allow for one operator to anonymously create and control up to ten personas from one computer.[3] Each persona would have a background, history, supporting details, and cyber presence that is consistent from a technical, cultural, and geographic standpoint.[9]

The project is overseen by U.S. Central Command (Centcom), whose spokesman Commander Bill Speaks stated that the operation would be carried out in Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu.[2]

The project is thought to be connected with Operation Earnest Voice.[2]

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Sockpuppets and Israel

Oct 2017 - timesofisrael.com - "Sockpuppet nation: How fake commenters and other online ploys skew what you read":

https:// www. timesofisrael.com/sockpuppet-nation-how-fake-commenters-and-other-online-ploys-skew-what-you-read/ | https://archive.fo/nfjFA

Mentions:

• Use of sockpuppets by Netanyahu's party and other parties/interests in Israel.
• Russian attempts to influence 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.
• Detection of sockpuppets.
• Sockpuppets used for both support and opposition.
• Israel Bitcoin scams using sockpuppets.
• Manipulation of Google results.

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2013 Turkey: Government Forms 6,000-Member Social Media Team

https://archive.fo/7PUJ1

ISTANBUL—Turkey's ruling party, facing the threat of fresh antigovernment demonstrations, is boosting its presence in a sphere long dominated by the opposition: social media.

The Justice and Development Party, led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is recruiting a 6,000-member social-media team to woo citizens and fight critics, party officials said.

The AKP is gradually bringing young, tech-savvy party members to Ankara to train them in classrooms to act as volunteer "social-media representatives."

The youth will be charged with sharing news and images, mainly on Twitter and Facebook, but also on Instagram and YouTube, that promote the party perspective and monitor online discussions, a party official said.

"We aim at developing a positive political language which we are teaching to our volunteers," said a senior party official responsible for organizing the campaign. "And when the opposing camp spreads disinformation about the party, we correct them with valid information, always using positive language."

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