air force So, Why Does the Air Force Want Hundreds of Fake Online Identities on Social Media? "Bad enough that spammers are creating fake Facebook accounts that acquire connections with unsuspecting people, then inundate them with crap. Now, though, the U.S. military is looking for software and services to manage upwards of 500 fake online personas designed to interact with social media, presumably including such sites as Facebook and Twitter. Last year, the U.S. Air Force" anarchists Company that does sock puppet propagandizing for us military also identifies anarchist networks at home "That person you are arguing with in the comment section at the end of Glenn Greenwald's latest blog about the CIA’s not-so-secret operations in Pakistan may in fact work for the US government. And the corporation that's paid to do the propagandizing has previously touted its experience in identifying 'anarchist networks' and leaders in the United States." boing US military launches Operation Sock Puppet, pays contractor $2.76m for social media ops "Centcom's contract requires for each controller the provision of one "virtual private server" located in the United States and others appearing to be outside the US to give the impression the fake personas are real people located in different parts of the world. It also calls for "traffic mixing", blending the persona controllers' internet usage with the usage of people outside Centcom in a manner that must offer "excellent cover and powerful deniability"." guardian Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media "Washington shows the morals of a clumsy spammer"

huffpo U.S. Military Launches Spy Operation Using Fake Online Identities http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/online-persona-management_n_837153 "These false online personas, also known as "sock puppets," would be equipped to seem like real people while entering online discussion through blogs, message boards, chats, and more. With a false persona, a user could discredit opponents, or create the semblance of consensus." sock puppets Persona Management: Fake On-line personas or “sockpuppets” "Persona management entails the use of software by which to facilitate the use of multiple fake online personas, or “sockpuppets,” generally for the use of propaganda, disinformation, or as a surveillance method by which to discover details of a human target via social interactions. Various incarnations of this capability have been discovered in the form of patents, U.S. military contracts, and e-mail discussions among intelligence contractors." telegraph US military creates fake online personas "The US military awarded a contract for software to create 500 fake personas on social networks in order to secretly influence online debate in its favour, it has been reported."