Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/RK777713/Archive

Suspected sockpuppets



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Same very specific claims of ownership. diff 1 diff 2 –– FormalDude  talk 07:29, 23 November 2021 (UTC)
 * As the sockmaster User:RK777713 did, the IP keeps referring to the article Ryan Kavanaugh as "their" page, suggesting that both User:RK777713 and this IP are Ryan Kavanaugh himself. The sockmaster has been recently banned for making legal threats. Both the sockmaster and the IP are making similar accusations against editors of the page. The IP has recently edited the article's talk here and my talk page here, and has made veiled legal threats against me here. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Throast (talk • contribs) 09:06, 23 November 2021 (UTC)
 * User:Knightedblog0934 seems to be yet another sockpuppet. They have again referred to the article as "their page" in this edit on my talk page. The have also removed other editors' comments on the Ryan Kavanaugh article talk here. Throast (talk &#124; contribs) 16:34, 23 November 2021 (UTC)
 * This IP, within the same range as the one above, has also made an edit deleting others comments from the talk page similar to Knightedblog0934. - Whisperjanes (talk) 18:10, 23 November 2021 (UTC)

Comments by other users
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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments
✅ User:Knightedblog0934 is confirmed to be a sockpuppet of User:RK777713. I've also found the following sleepers: Blocking and tagging all. GorillaWarfare (she/her • talk) 18:01, 23 November 2021 (UTC)
 * User:ThePhoenixLives1313
 * User:ThePhoenixLives13
 * User:MoonSunStarsII
 * User:WikinewInformation007
 * User:Thetruth10011001
 * The evidence against is quite persuasive. Same ownership of the Kavanaugh article, with confirmed sock Knightedblog continuing their narrative at Special:PageHistory/User talk:Throast. : They were on this /64 in August too, but no intervening edits, so .  --  Tamzin  [ cetacean needed ] (she/they) 18:21, 23 November 2021 (UTC)
 * : . clpo13(talk) 18:33, 23 November 2021 (UTC)

Suspected sockpuppets

 * Renamed to Garen67541


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Appears to be another sock. The account was created three hours after RK777713's sockpuppets were blocked (see log) and made its first edit here on November 24, 2021, not even 24 hours after the block. The account has made edits exclusively to Talk:Ryan Kavanaugh, where they have made similar requests as RK777713 and its sock Knightedblog0934. Throast (talk &#124; contribs) 04:48, 25 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Sorry in advance if it is inappropriate for me to comment here(?) Thetruth10011001 (one of the swath of sockpuppets) was blocked at 17:51, 23 November 2021, and 88rising88 was created at 21:59, 23 November 2021, according to the link you provided. What am I getting wrong? Throast (talk &#124; contribs) 19:45, 25 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Oops, bad math on my part. And this doesn't change your decision at all? I would say it's evidence that there's at least some sort of real-life connection between those two editors there. Throast (talk &#124; contribs) 14:18, 26 November 2021 (UTC)
 * brought up another interesting point: the co-founder of 88rising, the company the account is named after, has a personal relationship with Ryan Kavanaugh (I know the identity of the sockmaster hasn't been confirmed but interesting nonetheless). Throast (talk &#124; contribs) 14:23, 26 November 2021 (UTC)
 * You're right, I don't think this needs to be reopened. As you say, appropriate measures can be taken if future edits are disruptive or once more evidence of meatpuppery comes to light. Regards Throast (talk &#124; contribs) 15:44, 26 November 2021 (UTC)

Comments by other users
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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

 * Their editing style seems less combative than that of past sox, and given that this dispute has attracted a degree of attention, it's possible that this is a distinct person who is sympathetic to their situation. That said, showing up on a talk page to make an edit request matching the POV put forward by an active sockmaster in previous edit requests is enough to warrant a check. .Also, a general note to all involved: I've already left a warning at User talk:Swift502 and User talk:79.70.189.157, but please remember that sockmasters and sockpuppets, accused or found "guilty", are still covered by WP:BLP, especially if they claim a real-world identity (an identity that, as far as I can see, we have not verified in this case). --  Tamzin  [ cetacean needed ] (she/they) 18:09, 25 November 2021 (UTC), ed. 18:27, 25 November 2021 (UTC)
 * - ~TheresNoTime (to explain!) 18:23, 25 November 2021 (UTC)
 * is technically ❌ to ~TheresNoTime (to explain!) 18:29, 25 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks, Sam. I don't see enough evidence to assume that this is meatpuppetry rather than two people with the same POV, so . As a non-SPI matter, however, 88rising88 should change their username to comply with WP:CORPNAME (see 88rising); I'll take that up with them on their talk, though.Oh, also, I meant to say, The account was actually created a few hours before the last block. You can see Special:CentralAuth/88rising88 to see when the account was created, or Special:Log/88rising88 assuming they created their own account (which they did). (However, most SPI clerks enable a script that tells us all of that stuff automatically.)  --  Tamzin  [ cetacean needed ] (she/they) 18:37, 25 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Huh, think I got mixed up there with the timestamps myself then (although that's 4 hours, then, not 3). I think I thought you were linking to a block log for a past sock, rather than the creation log for 88rising88. My bad. --  Tamzin  [ cetacean needed ] (she/they) 20:00, 25 November 2021 (UTC)
 * I would not at all be surprised if there is some connection between RK777713 and (formerly 88rising88). That is not inherently against policy. WP:MEAT prescribes: A new user who engages in the same behavior as another user in the same context, and who appears to be editing Wikipedia solely for that purpose, may be subject to the remedies applied to the user whose behavior they are joining. RK was blocked for legal threats with a dash of article ownership, and Garen has so far avoided that behavior. Their edits to Talk:Ryan Kavanaugh do have an air of promotionality to them, to be sure, and continued edits of that sort may result in sanctions (after due warnings and such), but I don't think this is a sufficiently clear-cut behavioral similarity to justify a meatpuppetry block. ANI may be a better venue for that sort of inquiry. But that's just my opinion. This is a complicated case that crosses over multiple kinds of policy violation, and if you would prefer I can reopen this and ping an admin-clerk.  --  Tamzin  [ cetacean needed ] (she/they) 14:48, 26 November 2021 (UTC)

Suspected sockpuppets



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Exclusive edits to Talk:Ryan Kavanaugh, making identical accusations and using similar arguments as previous sockpuppets, albeit a bit toned down (compare this to this and this). Also, somewhat similar writing style and use of "Thetruth" and the number 13 in username similar to previous sockpuppets User:ThePhoenixLives13 and User:Thetruth10011001. Behavioral evidence might not be enough to prove sockpuppetry, so a CU has been requested. Throast (talk &#124; contribs) 15:03, 8 January 2022 (UTC)

Comments by other users
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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

 * Given the username and the shared POV, this seems to be either Kavanaugh or someone who wants us to think they're him. (Which would be a weird thing to do, but this whole mess has attracted a lot of attention, so who knows.) . If negative for Kavanaugh, a CU may also want to compare to (see ), as they're the only other person on Wikipedia who seems to have this pro-Kavanaugh POV, and were just on my talkpage asking what to do about the article's editors not taking their side... but the username makes me doubt that it's them, so I'll stop short of formally endorsing w/r/t them.  --  Tamzin  [ cetacean needed ] (she/they) 21:20, 8 January 2022 (UTC)
 * to RK777713; ❌ to Garen67541. Given the username, topical overlap, and technical similarities, the account ., closing. Mz7 (talk) 02:54, 9 January 2022 (UTC)

Suspected sockpuppets



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User created three days ago for what seems to be the sole purpose of baselessly accusing and me of being paid by "H3" to edit the Ryan Kavanaugh article, see diff and diff. The IP has made identical accusations at Popoki35's talk page here. Given the exposure, it could obviously be someone else with the same POV but also given that Kavanaugh has repeatedly demonstrated willingness to create new accounts to evade his block, I believe this is worth investigating. Tagging who is familiar with the entire situation.

It might also be important to note that, who has been suspiciously silent since January 16, is the only other user on Wikipedia as far as I'm aware to invoke this alleged COI of mine and Popoki35, see diff for an example. I think at this point, meatpuppetry on this user's part should be seriously considered. I want to remind everyone that the user was created 4 hours after RK777713's then most recent sockpuppet was blocked (see Sockpuppet investigations/RK777713/Archive) and has since then almost exclusively edited the Ryan Kavanaugh article and its talk page, keen on removing "negative" information based on dubious arguments, as recently as January 16, diff. Throast (talk &#124; contribs) 14:31, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
 * I want to clarify that I did not accuse Garen of being this user, nor do I believe them to be a sockpuppet of RK777713. I think there's reasonable cause to believe that they're a meatpuppet (an associate of Ryan Kavanaugh editing on his behalf). Throast (talk &#124; contribs) 00:30, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

Comments by other users
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Im sorry why does me not posting for 2 DAYS make me suspiciously silent ?

I have been accused several times of being a Sockpuppet, I have no affiliation with Ryan Kavanaugh. I would be more inclined to consider meatpuppetry on your part.

The top 3 editors on the Ryan Kavanaugh page are Throast (46.2%) Popoki35 (33.6%) Pabsoluterince (5%)

The breakdown can be seen here https://xtools.wmflabs.org/authorship/en.wikipedia.org/Ryan%20Kavanaugh

All 3 of these users have a history of editing the page of h3 productions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H3h3Productions)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Throast https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/Popoki35 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Pabsoluterince

Ryan Kavanaugh and his company triller currently have ongoing lawsuits with the H3 Podcast, the podcast openly discuss this every week, they constantly talk about Ryans wikipedia and stream them reading it on there channel laughing at the latest content that has been added, they have made a defamatory website comparing him to the convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein.

The user Throast has in someway edited the wiki pages of nearly every person/company that H3 podcast has had issues with including: Shane Dawson, Trisha Pastas, Triller (Ryan Kavanaugh's Business), Moses Hacmon, Gabbie Hanna, David Dobrik, Relativity Media (Ryan Kavanaugh's Business)

Since the law suit has been announced these editors have been editing the page of Ryan Kavanaugh and the business’s he is invested in to add any piece of information regarding law suits that they can, Most are credible and from valid sources, but some of the reasoning for removing other content is outrageous and they are cherrypicking sections and not including a balanced amount of content for each argument. The same articles they reference contain positive info about his films produced or other businesses he has started yet when I raise a concern all 3 editors group together to tell me im wrong, despite me citing the specific wiki rules they are breaking. Such as NPOV, BALANCE, CHERRYPICKING, using articles with weasel words and over referencing the same articles, there are some articles that are cited over 17 times on the page!

Pabsoluterince has also removed an article from the H3 page which detailed racist remarks the h3 podcast made, it is was written on the dailydot.com which is on the approved perennial list. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=H3h3Productions&diff=1065981632&oldid=1065981331 The same editors from Ryan kavanaughs page edit the h3 page yet do not question each other regarding this.

The majority of the latest up to date articles regarding Ryan mention his new business venture triller and the many concerts, fight club events, versus raps battles and the app yet the only piece of information these editors added was this content to link the takeover with Donald trump and mention a lawsuit " 2019, Proxima Media acquired a majority stake in the video-sharing platform Triller, coinciding with the Trump administration's announcement that it intended to ban its more popular Chinese competitor TikTok in the US.[41] In 2020, Kavanaugh was named in a lawsuit alleging the unauthorized and unlawful use of a patented symbol in Triller's marketing for their Fight Club subsidiary.[42][43]’

The exact same happened previously with his films produced list, it only mentioned that he was denied a producing credit and that he didn't produce moneyball, they didn't think to mention 1 film he produced.

I am not questioning that the lawsuits and accusations should be included but why is that the only thing that is being added.Garen67541 (talk) 17:36, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

 * So, given the level of attention Kavanaugh has drawn to this on Twitter, I think these is much more likely either a troll or someone making a ham-fisted attempt to cash in on that bounty. IP geolocates to the other side of the country from the last RK IPsock. Writing style is different. And I don't see evidence that this is Garen other than (to an extent) a shared POV, although even that's not a spot-on match. CU, but I'll be dealing with this through other channels presently. --  Tamzin  [ cetacean needed ] (she/they) 23:59, 19 January 2022 (UTC)
 * I've said before I wouldn't be at all surprised if Garen has some sort of connection to Kavanaugh. But they've denied having a COI, and I don't think there's sufficient evidence for me to call bullshit on that. If you have off-wiki evidence of them specifically acting at Kavanaugh's command, that should go to ArbCom; if you have on-wiki evidence of it, I would need to see a detailed SPI that differentiates this from a standard case of shared POV and/or COI. And if you can't differentiate that but still think they're acting in violation of policy, then that's more a matter for COIN or AN/I. --  Tamzin  [ cetacean needed ] (she/they) 00:47, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Also, just noting that the account and IP have now been blocked for harassment. I backchanneled the request because there was oversightable material involved and I didn't want to draw more attention to it by requesting the block at SPI. In the future, if people make edits attempting to doxx you—even if incorrectly—please forward things to the OS team. Otherwise, y'know, bad actors might be able to read between the lines if there's 5 attempts to doxx you that don't get OS'd, and suddenly one that does. --  Tamzin  [ cetacean needed ] (she/they) 04:55, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

Suspected sockpuppets
Similar language (compare "kindly assist" and "Regards" to "kindly revert", "kindly advise", and "Best regards"). RK777713 has previously complained about "his page being destroyed" (diff) and this sockpuppet has added fluff to the Ryan Kavanaugh article, see diff, diff, diff. Both users refer to Ryan Kavanaugh by his first name. Sockpuppet's edits previous to the Ryan Kavanaugh article were probably made to gain autoconfirmed rights since the Ryan Kavanaugh article is semi-protected. Throast (talk &#124; contribs) 19:22, 20 May 2022 (UTC)

To clarify, although there hasn't been a formal investigation, considers  (whose edits I use for comparison above) to be a likely sockpuppet of RK777713, see block log. Throast (talk &#124; contribs) 21:04, 20 May 2022 (UTC)


 * , has added flattering info to the article in a manner similar to this sock (diff, diff). Also similar pattern of prior edits to attain autoconfirmed rights.  blocked them for being a sockpuppet of H2H3fanbase2TP. So, if this user isn't deemed a sock of RK777713, they are almost certainly a sock of H2H3fanbase2TP. Throast (talk &#124; contribs) 20:06, 23 May 2022 (UTC)

Comments by other users
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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

 * Not 100% sure. Prior RK socks are keen on removing unflattering information, this one only added excessively flattering material.  It's quite possible, but it would help to have more eyes on this.  One side note; if this is a sock, we should probably also up the protection to ECP, given the willingness to wait out autoconfirmed.  -- Jayron 32 11:15, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Hamytosh is ✅ to Egyptian pharaoh take. Article ECP'd. Limited CU data available for RK777713, but I do not think the H2H3 family == RK777713. - please split out a new case for H2H3fanbase2TP, Egyptian pharaoh take, and Hamytosh and tag appropriately., for future reference, the linguistic similarities you mentioned above look like ENGVAR to me, not anything particularly proof-worthy.  GeneralNotability (talk) 01:16, 24 May 2022 (UTC)
 * -- Jayron 32 15:56, 24 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Split to Sockpuppet investigations/H2H3fanbase2TP as requested. Closing. --Jack Frost (talk) 21:15, 24 May 2022 (UTC)