Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Unotretre/Archive

01 January 2013

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User:Unotretre was previously indef blocked per WP:NLT. His edit history was focussed on trying to promote an Italian company (Gravitis) in Freeboard (skateboard) and long-boarding related edits. Both of the above accounts registered recently and almost immidiately appeared at Articles for deletion/Aldo Grippaldi (an article created by Wrwrw) and other articles edited by Unotretre, again specifically to mention Gravitis products in various articles. The subject of the AFD in question is a founder of the company being promoted (on behalf of whom the original legal threats were made). The sock-puppetry seems fairly obvious.

In addition, they seem to all share the same style of prose (based on Italian/broken English) and typing style. Stalwart 111  08:29, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

In December I raised this case at ANI relating to a particular IP range with the same editing style/pattern in the same articles, one of which was also blocked for similar legal threats. I've added them to the list. Stalwart 111  08:56, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

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 * SfBOT and Wrwrw are ✅. Unotretre is . No comment on IPs. T. Canens (talk) 10:07, 1 January 2013 (UTC)
 * Dots connected, named accounts indef blocked and tagged. Closing. Dennis Brown -  2&cent;    &copy;  Join WER 13:50, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

27 March 2013

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A brand new account has appeared and has immidiately started spamming revisionist history about the company Gravitis into Freeboard (skateboard) (the MO of about 1/2 a dozen previous User:Unotretre socks). He's already at 3RR and is now shouting about googling patents (an old argument) as "proof" of Gravitis' completely unsourceable/unverifiable invention claims. Obvious sock or meat puppet with an almost identical agenda (and style of prose) to Jan 2013 socks. Stalwart 111  11:19, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

Note: this can probably now be closed. Account has been blocked after discussion at ANI. Cheers, Stalwart 111  12:57, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

Another sock has now appeared, making the same changes and arguments and even referencing his previous block. Stalwart 111  20:19, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

Another concerned editor opened a concurrent investigation at Sockpuppet investigations/unotretre and the case-sensitivity meant the case did not get rolled into this one. The new sock has now also been blocked. So the two investigations can probably be merged and closed (hopefully another sock won't appear and force me to strike my comment again). Thanks all. Stalwart 111  00:13, 28 March 2013 (UTC)

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 * Both accounts are already blocked and tagged, so marking this for closing. Jafeluv (talk) 00:35, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

07 April 2013

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Two Three new obvious duck socks. Both All were immediately identified and blocked. Recording them here for posterity and for future CUs. Feel free to archive this immediately. Stalwart 111  09:00, 7 April 2013 (UTC)

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08 May 2013

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Perhaps the most obvious WP:GHBH attempt I have ever seen. The article Freeboard (skateboard) has been a constant target for vandalism by supporters of the company Gravitis (see archives of this investigation).

Today a new account was registered at 7.29 and edited Freeboard (skateboard) at 7.37 to add the name of Gravitis' main competitor, Freebord, claiming to be "completing the Advertising". At 7.41 the second account was created and a 7.42 it reverted the first account's edit with a summary suggesting the first is a "sockpuppet".

The second then left a note on the article talk page claiming credit for reverting the promo edit and suggesting the first was "probably another sockpuppet" supportive of Freebord. About 7 pro-Gravitis socks have been indeffed but not a single Freebord sock. That "sockpuppet" then just happens to have been caught (within minutes) by a brand new account with the same style of broken English as each of the previous Gravitis socks. Surprise! The message also included a comment about the need to remove Freebord sales figures from the article (a reliably sourced part of the subject history) - something Gravitis socks have pushed for in the past.

Obviously the Gravitis crowd are back, creating accounts to make it look like the Freebord crowd (with no history of doing so) are socking in the same way they have. I can almost guarantee that the next tactic is a "see, they are as bad as us!" message.

I think a CheckUser will confirm they are one in the same and both come from Europe (Italy in particular) where Gravitis is based and not from the US where Freebord is based. A pretty clear attempt at muddying the waters around their competitor after completely destroying their own reputation with sock-puppetry and legal threats. Stalwart 111  22:49, 8 May 2013 (UTC)


 * LOL - almost too funny. Thanks TC! Stalwart 111  05:27, 9 May 2013 (UTC)

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 * ✅. T. Canens (talk) 04:57, 9 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Blocked, tagged, closed. Rschen7754 08:46, 9 May 2013 (UTC)

26 August 2013

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Two more brand new accounts with the same patent and trademark claims focused entirely on Freeboard (skateboard). Part of a long-term sock-puppetry campaign to have a particular European brand (Gravitis) recognised as the "true" origin of this particular product (though that claim is completely unsupported by reliable sources). This has been explained many times to many different sock-puppets but every few months the same person returns with a new account trying to make essentially the same unsourced edit (this being the latest). These socks have the same obsession with "2007" as the origin of some of these ideas (though most of the reliable sources are pre-2004), the same focus on Europe/Italy as the "origin" (one of the accounts even has an Italian name). This and this are previous examples of other Unotretre socks making the same claims either in article or in edit summaries. Stalwart 111  23:03, 26 August 2013 (UTC)

Comments by other users
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 * Profano has been blocked as the largest of legal-threat-quacking ducks. Not sure about the other. - The Bushranger One ping only 07:22, 27 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Yeah, this editor has an interesting history of creating two accounts at a time. Last time he created two, used the first to vandalise the article in a way that suggested his competitor was responsible, and then used the second to revert the "vandalism", claim credit for doing so and argue that references to the competitor should be removed from the article as a result. That round of Cluedo took about 30 seconds to unravel - it was the sock-puppet in the article with a WP:STICK. It looks like he created the second account today to "clean up" after his broken-English edit and prevent it from being reverted (too bad I have Twinkle). Stalwart 111  07:55, 27 August 2013 (UTC)

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

 * - Profano is clearly Unotretre - he's continuing the same patent-related nonsense that Unotretre's original account started pushing years ago. Not sure about USAsimplifier. But worth checking Profano alone as Unotretre typically has more than one account at a time. There are no ripe socks to check against in the archive, unfortunately. Someguy1221 (talk) 02:05, 31 August 2013 (UTC)
 * - L Faraone  15:06, 31 August 2013 (UTC)
 * ✅ L Faraone  15:09, 31 August 2013 (UTC)
 * To elaborate: and  are most probably the same user. L Faraone  20:00, 31 August 2013 (UTC)
 * I've blocked the final sock. Closing. Reaper Eternal (talk) 01:42, 1 September 2013 (UTC)