Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M0835

Sockpuppet

Sockpuppet
CollaborateHigh supportCommunication Studies
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

A person registers multiple alternate accounts, pretending to be different independent individuals, to mutually praise each other online, fabricate public opinion, or attack opponents.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Identify false consensus. When you see a group of people unanimously supporting a viewpoint in a forum, be wary of whether the same hand is manipulating behind them. This is a hacking technique to create a 'herd effect'.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

The same manipulator controls multiple sockpuppets, pretending to be independent individuals who echo each other, artificially creating a false consensus of 'majority opinion', triggering others' conformity (herd effect). Its power comes from 'quantity disguise'—amplifying a single voice into 'public opinion'.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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