Mhhossein (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)

10 December 2020

– This SPI case is open.

Suspected sockpuppets

• Maqdisi117 (talk⁺ · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · spi block · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)

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

Maqdisi117 is an account created in September this year with currently 115 edits. This rather new account has managed to find their way to editing alongside Mhhossein in controversial articles, some of which have a history of sockpuppetry.

A month after registering for the first time, Maqdisi117 somehow finds their way to WP:OR to support Mhhossein’s post there. [1]

Maqdisi117 then starts editing National Council of Resistance of Iran, which myself and another editor revert. Maqdisi117 asks on the article’s talk page why his edits are getting reverted, and Mhhossein gets involved (Mhhossein had never edited this article prior to Maqdisi117 getting involved). [2]

Maqdisi117 then votes in support of Mhhossein at a RfC where Mhhossein is heavily involved: [3]

Both editors share similar time cards and similar traits in their edits. I suspect this is more likely a coordinated meatpuppetry case rather than sockpuppetry, but a CU wouldn't hurt:

• Maqdisi117: using "~" ("~2 billion"): [4]
• Mhhossein: using "~" ("~60%"): [5]

• Maqdisi117: Using " + " (in edit summary): [6] [7] [8] [9]
• Mhhossein: Using " + " (in edit summary): [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]

• Maqdisi117: "Moreover," [16]
• Mhhossein: "Moreover," [17] [18] [19] [20] etc...

• Maqdisi117: "clarification" (in edit summary)[21]
• Mhhossein: "clarification" (in edit summary)[22]

Thank you. Stefka Bulgaria (talk) 15:36, 10 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by other users

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

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

• Stefka Bulgaria, SPI reports and the use of CU are not a fishing expedition. Like you, Mhhossein is an editor in good standing who focuses on the WP:GS/IRANPOL topic area. Now, I realize that you're both on opposing sides, but to suggest that Mhhossein, suddenly out of the blue, would take it upon themselves to duplicate a voice in the form of a new editor — I'm sorry, but that just stretches belief for me. Especially with you having such a flimsy basis for the claim: the usage of 4 extremely common words and characters. "Moreover," "~," "+," and "clarification" — really? Who hasn't made use of these at some point? And then you go on to say that socking isn't even the most likely possibility here, but that instead, we may be dealing with a coordinated meat. But coordinated how? How do you prove that? Obviously, CU can't help with anything like that. For all we know, this is an individual who realized that they share Mhhossein's views, and accordingly, may have decided to browse some his respective contributions. Likewise, Mhhossein might have been browsing the contributions of a like-minded new user. At face value, either of these are perfectly legitimate. I'm just not seeing any grounds to the assertion that Mhhossein has had any (prior meat) knowledge about or any coordination with that new account. Honestly, I'm surprised and dissapointed by this report. Because it's obvious that it fails on a number of levels, not least of which is the potential poisoning of any meaningful dispute resolution in the topic area for some time to come... El_C 10:10, 11 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]