Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/ANZER.AYOUB/Archive

Suspected sockpuppets
These editors appear to be engaged in sock or meatpuppetry in relation to The Chenab Times and related topics. Right off the bat, Sahil Qazi is ساحل قاضی per self-disclosure (and it also literally being the same name), which is fine; it is these accounts' editing and their connection to the other accounts that is problematic.

Arhamic and Sahil both began editing in August 2023 (Arhamic's claim on their user page of being active on ar.wiki is not borne out by their xtools report), and both focus almost exclusively Chenab Valley topics, particularly those relating to The Chenab Times, including editors of the publication such as Anzer Ayoob and Farid Ahmed Naik. These contributions are promotional in tone, and both editors' edit summary style suggests familiarity with Wikipedia conventions from the very beginning of their edit history. TheChunky has also contributed to Chenab Times topics, in addition to marking Anzer Ayoob and Farid Ahmed Naik as reviewed, without logging neutrality concerns.

Mark Anderson II and Nancy Pro are relatively incidental to this report, as they are further throwaway accounts that have appeared on The Chenab Times topics.

The smoking gun in this report that sets this apart from a group of naive newbie editors writing about their hometown is Articles for deletion/Harvinder Singh (IAS officer) (which in itself features evidence that raises concerns about the extent to which TheChunky can be trusted with advanced permissions). In the course of this discussion, TheChunky cites a brand new article written by Anzer Ayoob in The Chenab Times about Harvinder Singh within minutes of its original publication. I think the timing and overlap of these accounts is highly suggestive of at minimum meatpuppetry, and together with the errors in TheChunky's argumentation identified by Usedtobecool in the AfD lead me to believe that TheChunky has been abusing their NPR permissions to engage in COI/UPE editing. signed,Rosguill talk 15:59, 8 December 2023 (UTC)


 * The CU results are clearer than I anticipated. The remaining two stale accounts are clearly also connected, as is  by self-admission, and  is clearly a connected SPA. Based on the behavior around the Harvinder Singh AfD, I think it's further clear that  is the same person as,  and . This also means that they were engaging in COI editing throughout and abused NPP permissions to promote themselves, as well as likely engaging in UPE beyond that. Remaining unblocked accounts mentioned by Usedtobecool are , ,  and . The first three don't have much activity beyond joining WikiProject Chenab Valley and making edits that don't appear to overlap with the sockmaster's area of promotional focus;  may be worth a CU scan because of the username connection. signed,Rosguill talk 19:50, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

Comments by other users

 * Accused parties may also comment/discuss in this section below. See Defending yourself against claims.

Thank you, Rosguill. I believe this is, previously. And I would add, and  to the list. These editors joined the WikiProject Chenab Valley or joined Wikipedia just to add themselves to that WikiProject, and have intersections with TheChunky and Chenab Times/Anzer Ayoob articles. is likely the oldest account since he was only 13 then. I suggest moving the SPI under that account. These accounts may be socks, or they may be meat (appears to be a big mess of both). The common thread is everyone cares about promoting Ayoob, and that was the first account to try that. And of course, they're all doing UPE work for people and organisations in Kashmir. As for editing pattern, I noticed that most accounts do mobile web edits, but some don't.. An article not mentioned by Rosguill is Chenabi, created by Sahil Qazi (mentioned by Rosguill), which includes this. The source is a Chenab Times page authored by Ayoob. Also, for the record, The Power of Local Journalism, also created by Sahil. Also, for the record, is likely Sahil Qazi. Usedtobecool ☎️ 18:47, 8 December 2023 (UTC)


 * , FYI. Usedtobecool ☎️ 18:49, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Hi @Rosguill and other editors involved in the discussion or investigation. It is true that I contribute to Chenab Valley-related topics and manage WikiProject Chenab Valley. There is nothing hidden in that. However, comparing my contributions to specific subjects, journalists, or news organizations feels unjust. I am open to addressing any concerns.
 * Regarding the recent allegations of COI with the article on Harvinder Singh, an IAS officer, Rosguil mentioned that I cited a recently published article by The Chenab Times. Firstly, it's essential to understand that when contributing to Chenab Valley topics, I follow regional publications. In that edit, I didn't cite a single source; instead, I was searching for more reliable sources. I found both Trishul News and The Chenab Times, with the latter being a recent publication. I accept that it might have been an error.
 * Concerning the accounts associated with me, WikiProject is open to everyone interested in contributing to its related articles. I cannot control who joins, and contributing to articles within the project does not imply a direct connection to me. I have over 9K contributions on English Wikipedia and have edited articles beyond The Chenab Times or its editors, as currently alleged.
 * While I acknowledge past instances of false allegations leading to temporary bans, I am not insinuating any ill intentions from Rosguil. Nevertheless, I believe it is my right to provide clarity on my stance. Thank you.  ❯❯❯  Chunky aka Al Kashmiri   (✍️) 03:50, 9 December 2023 (UTC)
 * , you may wish to review the AFC status of TheChunky. Also, is there anything you, as an individual arb, or on behalf of the committee, can say about this case, in view of this? Best, Usedtobecool ☎️ 05:02, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

 * - this is unclear but there's enough here to run a check. Please compare the accounts mentioned in the main filing. I suspect a few of them will be related but not all. In addition,, have you ever been paid in relation to the The Chenab Times topic area, or do you have any sort of conflict of interest there in general? DatGuyTalkContribs 14:23, 9 December 2023 (UTC)
 * These are ✅:  and  are stale. Izno (talk) 19:08, 9 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Closing. Izno (talk) 09:09, 14 December 2023 (UTC)

Suspected sockpuppets
User:Arunaj2003 was created a few days after User:ANZER.AYOUB was blocked. Arunaj2003 proceeded to create Mela Pat, a deleted creation (Mela Patt) of ANZER.AYOUB. SailingInABathTub 🛁 10:13, 4 January 2024 (UTC)


 * This article is written by me not by ANZER.AYOUB i don't under the reason for deletion any one can explain Arunaj2003 (talk) 10:29, 4 January 2024 (UTC)
 * I am here to contribute wiki and the main issue is i don't know who is this ANZER.AYOUB for verification purpose you can ask any think i mean any document or somthing else which verifies me thank you Arunaj2003 (talk) 11:36, 4 January 2024 (UTC)

Comments by other users

 * Accused parties may also comment/discuss in this section below. See Defending yourself against claims.

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

 * , but I think it's more likely to be a distinct paid editor in a similar location. ST47 (talk) 01:33, 9 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Unlikely to be ANZER.AYOUB, but I've indeffed for linkspam. The Wordsmith Talk to me 03:26, 2 March 2024 (UTC)