Soldiers in Masks--U.S. Information Warfare, Facebook, and Sock Puppets (early 2010s)

Soldiers in Masks--U.S. Information Warfare, Facebook, and Sock Puppets (early 2010s)

Activities related to "sock puppets" on U.S. social networking sites were primarily part of a psychological operation by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) called Operation Earnest Voice (OEV). The operation aimed to counter extremist ideology and propaganda by using fake online personas and spreading pro-American propaganda on foreign language websites.

Operation Earnest Voice deployed elaborately designed fake accounts to spread pro-American views on extremist forums and social networking sites in the Middle East and Central Asia. Each account was tailored to act as if it were a local from a different region, with consistent technical, cultural, and geographic backgrounds; VPNs and static IP addresses were used, as well as a virtual machine environment that was erased after each session. One operator could control up to a dozen fake accounts, and in 2011, the U.S. government reportedly awarded a $2.76 million contract to the California firm Ntrepid to develop specialized software.

The manipulation of information through such fake accounts raised strong concerns from ethical and legal perspectives, as it could have a serious impact on the formation of public opinion. In particular, the possibility of distorting the credibility of opinions in public space and disturbing consensus building itself was pointed out.

The term "sock puppet" essentially refers to a fake account that expresses opinions online while pretending to be someone else. It functions as a means of disguising the legitimacy and influence of one's opinions by making them appear as if they are endorsed by a third party.

CENTCOM spokesman Bill Speaks explained that Operation Earnest Voice technology is intended for use on foreign language websites such as Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, and Pashto, and is not intended for use on US-based platforms such as Facebook or Twitter. It is not intended to be used on U.S.-based platforms such as Facebook or Twitter. This is because U.S. law strictly prohibits government propaganda activities aimed at U.S. citizens.

However, information waves transcend national borders, and the possibility could not be denied that Operation Earnest Voice's activities may have unintentionally and indirectly influenced public opinion on Facebook. In fact, fake accounts by governments of other countries have often been uncovered on Facebook, with reports of Iranian espionage and trolling by foreign powers targeting U.S. veterans.

Additionally, in 2019, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted an operation using fake Facebook profiles to direct immigrants to the fictitious "Farmington University" and arrest over 170 people. This incident is a rare example of the U.S. government deploying "sock puppets" on Facebook for a specific purpose.

Looking around in this way, it is clear that the manipulation of disinformation on social networking sites is already a real and deeply rooted problem. In order to protect the reliability and transparency of information, it will be increasingly important for platforms to strengthen their monitoring systems, and for individual users to make efforts to develop a discerning eye for information.