Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Mint69/Archive

Suspected sockpuppets



 * Tools: Editor interaction utility • Interaction Timeline • User compare report Auto-generated every hour.

The puppet was created about three weeks after the master last month. The master began by editing existing articles (joined on the same articles later by the puppet). My interest was triggered by a thread about the master at WP:ANI. I noticed three things immediately. First, a new user was able to create rather elaborate articles almost from the get-go, e.g., this article creation. Second, the puppet edited almost every article the master created (they created 8 articles, not counting one that they blanked and was deleted), and often as the second user to edit the article. Third, the subject matter was mostly serial killers (some just killers). For convenience (because the link here doesn't work), here is the article intersection analysis.

On the flip side, I noticed that the puppet's edits are all mobile web edits, whereas the master's are not. I also noticed that in many instances the time between their edits is very short.

The two accounts corrected each other. Here's an example. In the Franklin Lynch (serial killer) article, Mint69 added a sentencing date of 1992. However, when Mint69 added Lynch's entry to the San Quentin State Prison article, they said that Lynch was sentenced to death in 1988. Along comes InfoIvan123($) who corrected the date to 1992. It's almost like the two accounts are proofing each other. They are certainly collaborating in the creation of these articles and other related edits.

Finally, one small thing that may be reaching, their usernames, Mint and a $.

I have trouble believing the two accounts are unrelated, but it is possible that they are meat puppets, so I've requested a CU to resolve that issue. Bbb23 (talk) 23:10, 16 September 2021 (UTC)
 * One other thing I meant to say. The master did all the creation, and the puppet collaborated with the "after" editing. Given the master's abilities, it is possible there is an earlier master, which a CU might reveal. The case does remind me of some other case, but I can't bring it back to mind, and given all the cases I've dealt with I could be wrong.--Bbb23 (talk) 23:22, 16 September 2021 (UTC) Updated --Bbb23 (talk) 12:13, 17 September 2021 (UTC)

Comments by other users
''Accused parties may also comment/discuss in this section below. See Defending yourself against claims.''
 * Well that's a shame, but at least now I don't have to keep checking his uploads for copyvios. ♟♙ (talk) 16:58, 28 September 2021 (UTC)

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

 * It's too late here for me to be doing any proper clerking, so I'll leave the CU request for someone else to review, but I will add two passing notes from a quick glance in the hopes that it's helpful for whoever gets to this. First, I think the case this might be reminding of is Sockpuppet investigations/Cadeken/Archive(?). It was the first thing that came to my mind at least, and I did see some overlap, but after looking into it, I get the impression that this is an unrelated group of accounts. Second, I suspect there might be some logged-out editing going on with  (if my suspicion is correct, then this almost certainly isn't Cadeken, whose IPs geolocate to the western US).  --Blablubbs (talk) 23:10, 25 September 2021 (UTC)
 * I didn't think it was Cadeken (a case I actually worked on). Thanks for the /64 range, though. I've blocked it for three months. Unfortunately, the disruption continues, replete with multiple copyright infringements. Given the CU backlog, I may block on my own based on behavior.--Bbb23 (talk) 23:22, 25 September 2021 (UTC)


 * Mint69 is ✅ to . They are to InfoIvan123($). All three . ST47 (talk) 23:19, 27 September 2021 (UTC)