Fake Account

SYSTEMS 30 ARTIFICIAL CONSENSUS
DOMAIN THE SIMULATION

DEFINITION:

A fabricated, deceptive, synthetic, impersonated, anonymous, or non-authentic account created to simulate the presence, participation, identity, behavior, opinions, engagement, or membership of a real individual or organization.

FUNCTION:

Transforms identity simulation into perceived participation by generating the appearance of additional independent actors within a network.

EXAMPLES:

Sockpuppet accounts
Synthetic social media profiles
Impersonation accounts
Coordinated engagement accounts
Automated persona accounts
Fictitious community members
Manufactured follower accounts

NOTES:

Fake accounts may be automated, human-operated, semi-automated, anonymous, pseudonymous, or impersonative. Their defining characteristic is the creation of an identity that does not accurately represent the entity it appears to be.

CONTROL TEXT OBSERVATION:

Consensus depends upon the perception of multiple independent participants. A fake account functions as an identity-simulation mechanism that creates the appearance of additional social actors within a network. Through fake accounts, engagement can be multiplied, support can appear larger than it is, and communities can seem more populated than they actually are. Artificial consensus emerges when simulated identities become indistinguishable from authentic participation.