noun Internet Slang

sockpuppet

· noun · internet

A fake secondary account used to prop up your own takes or sneak past a ban.

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Definitions

1

An alt account someone runs to pretend they're a different person — usually to upvote their own posts, agree with themselves in the comments, or dogpile someone they're already fighting with on their main. The whole point is the deception; if you're open about the alt, it's not a sockpuppet.

“Mods banned three of his sockpuppets in one night, all defending the same crypto pitch.”
by community
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2

An account used specifically to evade a ban or block — same person, new puppet, hoping nobody notices. On most platforms this is a straight-up TOS violation called ban evasion.

“He got perma'd Monday and was back as a sockpuppet by Tuesday afternoon.”
by community
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sockpuppet In A Sentence

Mods banned three of his sockpuppets in one night, all defending the same crypto pitch.
He got perma'd Monday and was back as a sockpuppet by Tuesday afternoon.

Origin & Usage

Pre-Reddit term — borrowed from the literal hand puppet — that was already common on Usenet and forums in the 1990s. Reddit and Wikipedia kept it alive as the standard label for fake-identity alts.

Variants sock puppetsockalt
Tags #reddit#accounts#moderation#deception

People Also Ask

Is a sockpuppet the same as an alt account?

Not quite. All sockpuppets are alts, but not all alts are sockpuppets. An alt only becomes a sockpuppet when it's being used to deceive — faking support, dodging bans, or pretending to be a stranger.

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