{"id":2196,"date":"2011-04-12T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-04-12T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/04\/sock-puppets-may-not-be-such-a-good-idea.html"},"modified":"2011-04-12T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-04-12T20:00:00","slug":"sock-puppets-may-not-be-such-a-good-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/04\/sock-puppets-may-not-be-such-a-good-idea.html","title":{"rendered":"Sock puppets may not be such a good idea"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nsock puppet:\nthe act of creating a fake online identity to praise, defend or create the illusion of support for one\u2019s self, allies or company. —\nNew York Times<\/a>\n<\/blockquote>\nJim Galloway asks,\n\nAbout Beth Merkleson: Does Casey Cagle\u2019s most out-spoken foe wear pants and carry a senator\u2019s BlackBerry?<\/a>\n
\n\n<\/a>\nFor a week, Republican grassroots activist Beth Merkleson has been on\na tirade against Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle.\n

\nFuming at allegations that Cagle was colluding with Democrats to recoup\nhis power that Senate Republicans stripped from him last November,\nMerkleson dubbed her near-daily e-mails the \u201cGeorgia Senate Informer.\u201d\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nThen again, it\u2019s very possible that Merkleson never existed. Or that\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\nshe wears pants and bears a striking resemblance to Senate Majority Whip\nCecil Staton, R-Macon.\n

\nMembers of the Senate Republican Caucus today were handed a 10-page report\ncompiled by Arch Adams of Hartwell, an Internet and political junkie,\nwho says Merkleson and Staton shared the same computer IP address on\nSaturday, 19 minutes apart.\n

\n\nYou may read the report here.<\/a>\n<\/blockquote>\nStaton denied it.\n

\nWhat happened was something of a sting. Adams, who sells trampolines\nand other outdoor fare online, sent an e-mail to Merkleson last Friday,\nfour days after she started publishing her notes. \u201cI just fool with\nthe Internet and I like politics,\u201d Adams said.\n

\nHe used an alias, \u201cT Smith,\u201d to send a note to Merkleson. The note\ncame back signed, \u201cCecil Staton.\u201d So there\u2019s one clue.\n<\/blockquote>\nThere’s more, about a bait website to which only Merkleson\nwas given the address, yet:\n

\nWithin 19 minutes, Staton clicked on it with his BlackBerry. The two\nwebsites indicated that both he and Merkleson shared the same IP address.\n<\/blockquote>\nAnd this:\n
\nAccording to data from the sectary of state\u2019s office, there is no Beth\nor Elizabeth Merkleson registered to vote in Georgia. With or without a\nmother in Dayton. Nexus can find no evidence that such a person exists,\nhere or in Ohio.\n<\/blockquote>\nWhat effect could that have?\nBrad Stone and Matt Richtel wrote in the NYTimes,\n\nThe Hand That Controls the Sock Puppet Could Get Slapped<\/a>:\n
\nFor high-profile figures, particularly members of political campaigns,\nsock-puppeting can be a shortcut to career disaster. In September,\nTad Furtado, the policy director for the then-representative from New\nHampshire, Charles Bass, a Republican, was caught posting under assumed\nnames on Democratic blogs, arguing that the race was not competitive and\nthat Democrats should focus their energies elsewhere. Liberal bloggers\ntraced the source of the messages back to the House of Representatives\nand identified Mr. Furtado, who lost his job. His boss lost the election.\n<\/blockquote>\nSock puppeting can be a fast way to lose political capital.\n
\nsock puppet:\nAn account made on an internet message board, by a person who already\nhas an account, for the purpose of posting more-or-less anonymously.\n—\n\nurban dictionary<\/a>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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