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< Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations | Applus2021

This is the current revision of this page, as edited by TheSandDoctor (talk | contribs) at 20:17, 7 December 2024 (Archiving case section from w:en:Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Applus2021 (using spihelper.js)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.

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Applus2021

25 April 2022

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Suspected sockpuppets

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Looking at the contributions of Pkraja1234 (the others are already blocked), all have incredibly high overlap in topics/articles, focusing on Economy of Andhra Pradesh, List of Indian IT companies, and Pulsus Group (to insert promotional material about OMICS Publishing Group.) This is exactly the behaviour of Applus2021, blocked for the same sort of edits (and for WP:PAID stuff). Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 09:21, 25 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Going to @@Randykitty: who might have more insight here too. Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 09:28, 25 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Girth Summit: See [1]. For some reason, my original report had those removed. Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 17:00, 25 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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  • Headbomb - you mention other accounts which are already blocked - could you expand on that, which accounts are we talking about? If any of them are recent, CU might prove useful. Thanks ​ Girth Summit (blether) 15:11, 25 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    OK, thanks for explaining Headbomb. Bbb23 removed those because the master and socks that are already blocked/tagged don't need to be listed in the socklist template - however, now I understand your opening sentence. I've taken a close look at the contributions, and am convinced on the strength of the behavioural evidence that this is the same person. Blocking as suspected, closing. Girth Summit (blether) 15:17, 26 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

31 May 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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Surya923 is CU blocked at itwiki as sockpuppet of Special:CentralAuth/Pkraja1234 (already confirmed by this SPI) and blocked at wuuwiki as a sockpuppet of Special:CentralAuth/Justice2022.

Both Justice2022 and Surya923 show a similar xwiki pattern, creating machine translations of Global Tech Summit in many languages [2][3]. At enwiki both make many minor edits since they were involved in the creation of Draft:Global Tech Summit, Global Tech Summit, Gedela Srinubabu (co-convener of the Global Tech Summit) and Vizag Warriors (owned by Gedela Srinubabu) Johannnes89 (talk) 08:03, 31 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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Global lock requested: meta:Steward_requests/Global#Global_lock_for_Pkraja1234,_Surya923,_Justice2022 --Filzstift (talk) 09:59, 31 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I had already requested locks for all the socks listed above, as noted in my closing comment. Girth Summit (blether) 12:13, 31 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

15 June 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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similar crosswiki pattern like the previous sockpuppets [4]: Created Global Tech20 Summits in multiple languages [5] since Global Tech Summit got deleted and edited Pulsus Group [6] Johannnes89 (talk) 06:02, 15 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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  •  Clerk endorsed - seems likely. Endorsing to check for others as the last check found a large number of socks. A few of the accounts from the previous filing are not stale. Thanks, Spicy (talk) 02:14, 19 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  •  Likely to each other:
  •  Confirmed to each other:

23 June 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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Same editing style as User:Jags1111, restoring Jags1111's edits at List of G20 summits. Belbury (talk) 08:06, 23 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I adhere to the Wikipedia guidelines on editing with utmost respect. However, I find it concerning that the important confirmation of the list of G20 summits lacks a proper explanation. As discussed on the talk page, the compilation of G20 summits holds great significance in driving global economic progress and serves as a catalyst for further advancement on a worldwide scale. I sincerely request that no content be omitted, and if any deliberation is necessary, I kindly ask that it be conducted at talk page.

The objective of g20 summits list Wikipedia article is to present a comprehensive list of summits. The list encompasses a wide range of conferences, including the distinguished G20 Summits attended by heads of state and heads of government, ministerial-level gatherings, assemblies of Engagement Groups, Sherpa meetings, G20 Think20, G20 Startup20, the esteemed Global Tech20 Summits series, the G20 affordable and accessible healthcare summit series, working group meetings, the Pharma20 Summit series, digital health forums, Finance track meetings, Outreach and dialogue sessions, and numerous other events of equal significance.

It is important to note that I do not have any personal relationships with the educators mentioned earlier.Ratna198 (talk) 01:48, 24 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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28 June 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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IP making essentially the same edits as Jags1111 above. Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 10:12, 28 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Dreamy Jazz: could you take a look at this? Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 00:31, 2 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Hi there. Because I have used the CheckUser tool recently on this case and therefore seen the IP addresses used by the accounts, I can make no No comment with respect to IP address(es) to avoid linking IP addresses to the accounts in this case.
Although I could evaluate the IP based solely on it's edits and make a determination only on that, my general rule is to leave determination related to IP addresses to other administrators to avoid the implication that blocking/not blocking an IP was because of CU evidence. Dreamy Jazz talk to me | my contributions 00:39, 2 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Guess I'll ping Spicy then. Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 00:42, 2 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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01 July 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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Similar behavior to previous sockpuppet User:Jags1111. Specifically, editing a sequence of unrelated articles that start with the same word (Potato cannon, Potato pancake, etc). Makes small grammatical changes, sometimes incorrectly. Edit summary is always a copy of the sentence that they changed. In some cases, edited the same article as previously edited by Jags1111 (eg. this vs. this) and even made the same edit (eg. this vs. this). CodeTalker (talk) 18:19, 1 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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Dreamy Jazz talk to me | my contributions 23:42, 1 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

05 July 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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Similar behavior again to previous sockpuppets. Edits a sequence of unrelated articles whose title begins with the same word (Leaf vegetable, Leafy seadragon, Leafcutter ant, etc). Edit summary is always a copy of the sentence that they changed. Edits are usually small grammatical changes, often incorrect. CodeTalker (talk) 14:38, 5 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

They've also been editing some of the exact same articles as previous socks, even the same sentences ([7], [8]). Belbury (talk) 15:11, 5 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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19 July 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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Editing pattern is the same after recent 2-week block by @Spicy: recently expired. 2601:1C0:4401:F60:E945:8986:3504:30CB (talk) 16:36, 19 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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26 August 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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Rudram01's edits match those of blocked sock User:Great2030 fairly closely, with promotional edits for a series of tech conferences with a tenuous connection to the 2023 G20 New Delhi summit.

See also see also interaction report and interaction timeline.

Compare:

There are overlaps both in style and in the references used. Comparison with edits to deleted Global Tech Summit should also yield overlap in the use of churnalism newspaper references for the conferences. Wikishovel (talk) 16:20, 26 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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I blocked

last week. Worth a check for sleepers. MER-C 17:58, 31 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Group 1,  Confirmed:

(and therefore to Applus2021) Group 2:  Confirmed:

(but no direct link to Applus2021). I see no direct connection between Rudram01 and any of the other accounts named here. As always, checkuser data cannot rule out WP:MEAT, and behavioural evidence seems to be fairly strong here. --Yamla (talk) 11:39, 10 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

25 September 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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User:Omeshanti1 created 19 Sept, WP:SPA with near identical Global Tech Summit spam as User:Rudram01 at Amitabh Kant, Nirmala Sitharaman, Mansukh Mandaviya and Gedela Srinubabu: [15]. Wikishovel (talk) 11:28, 25 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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05 October 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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A number of IP block-evading socks have been re-adding Applus2021's promotional material about the Global Tech Summit to several articles One of them, User:125.21.16.29, was already blocked for sockpuppetry (see SPI archive) two weeks on 2 July 2023 by User:Spicy, then again for a month on 20 July 2023 by User:Bbb23.

On the day of block expiration, User:125.21.16.29 immediately resumed similar spammy additions about health and tech summits in India, Pulsus, etc. to several articles: [16], [17], etc. That address hadn't spammed these to Gedela Srinubabu yet: that's the job of User:164.164.116.131. But after I reverted the obvious block-evading spam, User:125.21.16.29 tried to write in that the FTC fines were the fault of his companies, and not him: [18]. When I reverted that, they first proposed deletion at the article talk page: [19], then tried to prod the article on 5 Oct. on the flimsiest of grounds: [20].

User:Aiin2050, created yesterday 4 Oct., started by admitting at their user talk [21] and user page [22] that they previously edited anon.

Since I said in my edit summary that I was contesting prod but that they could take it to AFD, User:Aiin2050 has now posted a sort of prototype AFD at Talk:Gedela Srinubabu: [23], and then actually asked me for help with the AFD nomination: [24]. Wikishovel (talk) 16:32, 5 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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10 October 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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User:ScholarlyScribe, created March 2023, now adding Global Tech Summit promo to EC-protected Gedela Srinubabu: [25], reverted by User:AndyTheGrump, then re-added with a POV-pushing "despite", and edit summary "Added new reference, written in a non promotional way" [26]. Overlap with sock User:Rudram01: [27]. Wikishovel (talk) 16:41, 10 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

And again 15 Oct: [28]. Compare with anon socks 3 Oct: [29], [30]. Wikishovel (talk) 16:41, 15 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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17 October 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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Pkap1100 created this morning, and one minute after creation posts at Talk:Gedela Srinubabu, complaining about unfair tone, and asking for anything negative to be shoved into a controversies section: [31], [32]. This is consistent with ScholarlyScribe's edits yesterday [33], and a more general trend of several socks trying to airbrush his bio. Blocked IP sock User:125.21.16.29 tried to prod the article 12 days ago, presumably so it could then be rewritten to someone's taste: [34]. Note the similar arguments of how the article shouldn't focus on things that happened five years ago, and "focusing on areas such as health equity, technology summits", consistent with the endless spamming of paid placement articels on the Vizag summit by ScholarlyScribe and the rest. Wikishovel (talk) 05:31, 17 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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18 October 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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Naslilx created 30 March, probable sleeper account as low activity since, recreated G20 Affordable and Accessible Healthcare today at G20 Summit Series on Affordable Healthcare. Wikishovel (talk) 09:49, 18 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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23 October 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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Rajaraj1983 created 1 Oct. 23 Oct adds the usual Global Tech Summit promo to European Business and Technology Centre, [35]. Edit overlap with master, Great2030, Surya923, though Great2030's are in hidden revisions. Wikishovel (talk) 09:34, 23 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Adding a note for future SPIs: socks frequently make promotional additions about Vizag and Gedela Srinubabu to articles: [36], [37], [38], [39], etc. Wikishovel (talk) 04:43, 25 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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Ok,  Confirmed but this seems a mess. Several more were created last night, see [40] and I keep finding more. Doug Weller talk 08:47, 24 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I've blocked but not tagged. Sorry, time is running out for me and I'm trying to sort out all the new interconnected socks I've found, which I am guessing now are all socks of Applus3022. Doug Weller talk 08:51, 24 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
And blocked User:GeorgeBlair01. Again, can someone tag, sorry. Doug Weller talk 08:54, 24 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

10 November 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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Nayadelhi1 created 2 Nov. First edits were today, re-adding promo for Gedela Srinubabu and the Tech Summit, same as User:Rajaraj1983, to:

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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29 November 2023

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Suspected sockpuppets

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New SPA spamming for Pulsus, Srinibabu, healthcare summit: [41], [42], [43]. Anon sock, similar spam today for Srinibabu: [44]. Not sure if this should be filed here or at WP:Sockpuppet investigations/Applus2021. Wikishovel (talk) 05:26, 29 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Vanjagenije:, here are those diffs:
Thanks, Wikishovel (talk) 09:25, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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  •  Additional information needed - @Wikishovel: In order to facilitate and expedite your request, please provide diffs to support your case. Please give two or more diffs meeting the following format:
  1. At least one diff is from the sockmaster (or an account already blocked as a confirmed sockpuppet of the sockmaster), showing the behaviour characteristic of the sockmaster.
  2. At least one diff per suspected sockpuppet, showing the suspected sockpuppet emulating the behaviour of the sockmaster given in the first diff.
  3. In situations where it is not immediately obvious from the diffs what the characteristic behaviour is, a short explanation must be provided. Around one sentence is enough for this. Vanjagenije (talk) 00:48, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

01 December 2024

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Suspected sockpuppets

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Latest sock, and two busy anons, promoting Gedela Srinubabu and Pulsus Group, this time mostly focusing on his involvement as owner of Vizag Warriors and their league the Andhra Premier League. Compare the off-topic promo added to a sports bio by anon 125.21.16.29 26 July [50] with same added 27 July by Davidrun99 at Sports in Andhra Pradesh [51]. Following his unsuccessful lone "keep" arguments at the AFD for the league seasons, Davidrun99 switched back to the usual brazen promotion of Srinibabu and any benefits for jobs etc that his companies might confer: [52], [53], since he is now actively running in national elections. Anons have been exclusively adding press mentions of Srinibabu. Checkuser requested for anon socks I might have missed. Wikishovel (talk) 11:26, 1 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

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