Sock puppet accounts unmasked by the way they write and post

41  2018-02-18 by That_Is_Precious

This article was posted 10 months ago, but with the recent news, I think it is important to repost this link:

Sock puppet accounts unmasked by the way they write and post

SS: By analyzing the "writing style, posting activity and relationship with other users", researchers from the University of Maryland have developed a tool to unmask sock puppet accounts. The researchers created a machine learning tool that had a 91% success rate at identifying two accounts owned by the same user.

Could this tool be used my moderators on Reddit? Here is what the researchers stated:

The system could be useful to detect sock puppets on any forum that makes an account’s posting history available, such as social media site Reddit and most websites’ comment sections, he says. A person could then verify if an account breaches the site’s rules. “These tools always have a human in the loop,” he says. “It would flag suspicious accounts and a moderator would decide.”

13 comments

1  Nintendo-or-Nothing 2018-02-18

Reddit needs it.

1  That_Is_Precious 2018-02-18

I agree. It would be a valuable tool to help make conversations more organic, and it could help prevent the intentional spreading of misinformation.

1  barcelonatimes 2018-02-18

But reddit wouldn't be able to push their narratives nearly as hard.

1  magnora7 2018-02-18

funny thing is reddit admins know there are shills everywhere, but they turn a blind eye because it makes the site usership look like it's growing

1  mentionbeinglawyer 2018-02-18

There are pretty simple ways to do this on your own using freely available online tools.

1  That_Is_Precious 2018-02-18

Would you mind posting these tools?

1  GoneWheeling 2018-02-18

I use snoopsnoo

1  Imma_trigger_you 2018-02-18

Yeah, until we all become an echo chamber and say the same things on purpose.

1  jesuitjew 2018-02-18

I'd rather people go by a tool like this rather than their eyes. I've seen mods in this sub and others justify interfering with the community because they "know" a user is a sockpuppet. It leaves too much up to interpretation, and biases might be at play.

1  fridaymonkeyk 2018-02-18

I'd rather people go by a tool like this rather than their eyes.

Sounds rational until the tool starts telling you something wildly different than your senses or you feel it is flipping the narrative suddenly.

1  bringsmemes 2018-02-18

2 accounts used by the same user? yea, i can usualyy t tell when my brother texts me from a strangers pone too

1  Peyton_Farquhar 2018-02-18

Your Reddit account is not anonymus. Big data collection, interpretation and sales for advertising is the economic driver behind all of the internet today. Companies are already collecting everything you post online and cross-referencing it to accounts on other sites, like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Amazon... hell, everything you s ever bought online, and every ad you've ever clicked on has been catalogued and used to build a profile of who you are. Your likes, your words, phrases and punctuation are used to identify you. Anonymity is a myth. Reddit is built on a lie.

1  jgear319 2018-02-18

How big was the sample? It said nine websites but how many people on those websites and how did they verify it was actually the same person? The bigger the sample the more false connections it will have.