# George W. sock puppets? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 7, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583 "2005-12-07T23:51:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/1 "2005-12-07T23:51:03Z")
This is probably an urban myth, but a friend who has heard me rave about SDMB asked me if we had any George W. Bush sock puppets on this board. This guy is an aide for a (Democratic) congressman and he said the Bush forces have people hitting the major chat rooms echoing Bush statements and promoting them. I told him that I didn’t think so because most of the Bush advocates have been here for quite a while and unless Bush has been doing it since he ran for President the first time, we don’t really qualify. I suppose it would be a good way for the board to make money with memberships and all - heck if they paid people to do it, it would be a great way for us to make some extra money. No, I am not volunteering to create a sock puppet, just to take money to spout pro-Bush propaganda. Heck I’m as good as any Iraqi newspaper after all. Seriously, has anyone else heard of this? ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/2 "2005-12-08T15:01:27Z")
Any political mole worth their salt would report back to the mother ship that this board would be a piss-poor place to hide out and spout some talking-points polemic. The regulars would spot it right off and have multi and simulposting hissy fits. We’ve seen ‘guests’ who are long-winded and seemingly very well-informed about certain topics who come out of nowhere and return there just as quickly; we were not fooled. Right off the top of my head I can think of the ‘smoking bans are silly’ and ‘flouride is a conspiracy’ people. Of course, they weren’t socks; I imagine it would take too much effort and reap too little benefit for an actual sock to be created and maintained. Maybe the tinfoil-hatted will chime in to disagree? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/3 "2005-12-08T16:12:00Z")
Well, there have been some cases of movies trying this sort of tactic on various movie related boards. “Oh my God, I just saw a sneak and this is the best movie ever!” So it isn’t a new or totally outrageous idea. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/4 "2005-12-08T16:52:58Z")
Hmmm. I think “sock puppet” is the wrong term to use here, because we aren’t talking about a single user (George W. or otherwise) posting, getting banned, and returning under different user names. And frankly, if a Bush staffer wants to join our board and not tell everyone what he does in real life and try to push the Bush agenda, I welcome it. Just try to keep up, will ya? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/5 "2005-12-08T18:05:50Z")
I recall one time a couple of years back when I strongly suspected some administration operative paid us a visit. It was in the lengthy thread engendered by Cecil’s “damn fool war” remark at the end of his “Was Bush AWOL” column. On the Friday the column was posted some newby vigorously argued Bush’s side - until 5 pm eastern time when he/she/or/it disappeared, never to be heard from again. (I tried to voice my suspicion in that thread but the hamsters, spotting me for a newby, gleefully chewed up the post and flushed it down the I/O port.) As a matter of general principle I have no doubt this happens, and not just in politics. Marketing Is All. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/6 "2005-12-08T18:08:36Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Well, there have been some cases of movies trying this sort of tactic on various movie related boards. “Oh my God, I just saw a sneak and this is the best movie ever!” > > So it isn’t a new or totally outrageous idea. That’s happened [thread=322205]here[/thread]. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/7 "2005-12-08T18:18:16Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Well, there have been some cases of movies trying this sort of tactic on various movie related boards. “Oh my God, I just saw a sneak and this is the best movie ever!” It’s not just the movie boards. My non-entertainment message board gets hit with quite a few viral marketing pitches for bands, movies TV shows. The mods are pretty savvy at catching them, and they’re usually deleted a few minutes after they’re posted. Here’s an example of one such post. > [@Viral Marketer](#): > > Case closed for Scott Peterson? > > So far, I’m not impressed with the evidence presented by the prosecution. Yes there’s plenty of circumstantial evidence, but nothing really concrete (no pun intended) to convict him of the charges. It’s a shame because I do feel that he’s guilty as sin, but it just seems that they let the defense have it easy. What I think would have been great to have seen would be (a certain cable TV network)'s anchorwoman, (an anchorwoman), against Scott Peterson. From what I’ve read, she has a perfect record of nearly 100 felony convictions at trial - and no losses while she worked as a prosecutor in Atlanta. > > What does everyone here think? Do you think we’ll have yet another killer walking free? > > (A certain cable TV network) gives the most extensive trial coverage during the day, but I’m at work until 6pm usually. From what I hear though, during the closing arguments (which start on Monday, 11/1) they are going to give (an anchorwoman) her own 2-hour show from 6pm-8pm to review that day’s events. That kind of works perfectly for me, and hopefully will give us some insite on what’s going on that courtroom. > > Kimberly It was the first post by the user. If the White House was doing something similar, would it be illegal if it was being paid for by the government rather than the Republican Party? ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/8 "2005-12-08T21:01:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Viral Marketer > Case closed for Scott Peterson? You mean this poster actually posted under the user name **Viral Marketer**? Talk about truth in advertising. You’ve got to respect that in a weird sort of way. Sorry, I don’t mean to hyjack. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/9 "2005-12-08T22:11:56Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > If the White House was doing something similar, would it be illegal if it was being paid for by the government rather than the Republican Party? Yes, it would be illegal. However, it wouldn’t be the first time. A handful of columnists were found to have taken money from the government to promote its policies. The most prominent of them took hundreds of thousands of dollars to pump up the No Child Left Behind program in his columns. (Armstrong Williams, IIRC) Even more dramatic is the millions the CIA paid to the Rendon Group to ballyhoo a campaign of misinformation “perception management” to make everybody think the Iraq invasion was a good idea. > **[Politics News](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/)** Compared to that, would it be surprising for somebody to be paid to hang around the SDMB to ask us why we hate America, playing junior Bill O’Reilly? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/10 "2005-12-08T22:18:10Z")
The article you linked to says explicitly that paid people have hung around internet chat rooms promoting positions. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/11 "2005-12-08T22:22:29Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Well, there have been some cases of movies trying this sort of tactic on various movie related boards. “Oh my God, I just saw a sneak and this is the best movie ever!” > > So it isn’t a new or totally outrageous idea. We also had a shill for a guy running for the DC council. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/12 "2005-12-08T22:46:01Z")
> [@TV time](#): > > You mean this poster actually posted under the user name **Viral Marketer** No, it was really under [**Kiyoung80**](http://www.google.com/search?q=Kiyoung80&hl=en&hs=DD9&lr=&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&start=10&sa=N). ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/13 "2005-12-09T05:08:25Z")
I think the term for this would be “[astroturfing](http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/A/astroturfing.html)” (i.e., artificial grassroots) ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/14 "2005-12-09T15:13:29Z")
> [@drewbert](#): > > I think the term for this would be “[astroturfing](http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/A/astroturfing.html)” (i.e., artificial grassroots) The astroturfing in your link was paid for by Microsoft. Let’s keep in mind that all the newswarping in this case is paid for by taxes, not by the Republican Party. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/15 "2005-12-10T22:58:27Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > The astroturfing in your link was paid for by Microsoft. Let’s keep in mind that all the newswarping in this case is paid for by taxes, not by the Republican Party. Uh, that’s just a specific example. Anyone can buy astroturfing. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/16 "2005-12-11T03:43:24Z")
Fascinating. I would never have thought us significant, or for that matter malleable, enough to bother attempting to manipulate. I suppose the philosophy is, “every little bit helps,” and “enough little bits help a lot.” Sorry, this post comes out sort of insulting to us. I don’t mean it to. I’m just surprised. That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/17 "2005-12-11T03:58:27Z")
> [@TV time](#): > > You mean this poster actually posted under the user name **Viral Marketer**? Talk about truth in advertising. You’ve got to respect that in a weird sort of way. > > Sorry, I don’t mean to hyjack. BTW **TV Time** , I’ve never wanted to email the mods and change my user name so bad. Thanks for giving me name lust. - Viral Marketer, er… Peter Wiggen ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2005, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/18 "2005-12-11T05:14:17Z")
> [@drewbert](#): > > I think the term for this would be “[astroturfing](http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/A/astroturfing.html)” (i.e., artificial grassroots) [hijack] Thanks for that link. It’s a useful site for a proofreader. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2005, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/19 "2005-12-11T22:18:40Z")
I actually work in Marketing, and get the stupid marketing magazines. They recommend against trying to use this kind of viral marketing. It’s unethical, for one, and as you can see from the examples, it’s really not at all effective. Embarassing as it may be to get twitted infront of 50,000 of the smartest people on earth (and a few total dipsticks), it’s nothing compared to trying it on someone who can [publish](http://www.slate.com/id/2128569/) the twitting. I wonder, though, if it would be illegal for someone in the White House communications office to do. They do have a pretty broad leeway in terms of what they use the government’s money for. I mean I’ve never seen a press conference or televised speech that was anything but propaganda, and it’s okay to pay people to produce and execute these things with government funds. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583/20 "2005-12-11T22:29:21Z")
I’m sure it’s happened occasionally. From all sides of the political fence, too. Interesting thread indeed. But reading it made me thirsty. That’s why I went straight to the fridge and popped a cool can of _John Smith’s Ale_. It’s got a ‘widget’ in the can, that gives it a really creamy head, just like it’s been poured in your local pub! OMG LOL!! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-w-sock-puppets/334583.md?page=2)