Category Archives: Digital Deception

Digital Deception: Sockpuppeteers

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Ken Dowell

Wikipedia defines a sockpuppet as an online identity used for the purposes of deception. The Urban Dictionary has some more colorful definitions: “A fake personality, usually a ‘friend’ or ‘sister’ created by a drama queen/king for the sake of defending … Continue reading →

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Digital Deception: Is Uncle Sam a Hacker?

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Ken Dowell

In April, AP broke the news of the latest bizarre twist in U.S. policy toward Cuba. Starting with a pirated database of 50,000 cell phone numbers of Cuban citizens, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) created ZunZuneo, essentially a … Continue reading →

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Digital Deception: Astroturfers

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Ken Dowell

There are times I’ve been traveling and looking for a decent dinner option, so I checked the listed local restaurants that got a five-star rating on Yelp. The last time I purchased a TV, faced with numerous choices that all seemed pretty … Continue reading →

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Digital Deception: Do Your Viewers Have a Heartbeat?

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Ken Dowell

One of the promises of the mature Web is the ability to track, to generate data about how many views and visitors come to a site and who they are. But with the availability of that data comes a vulnerability. … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Deception, Digital publishing, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Digital Deception: The Illusion of Influence

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Ken Dowell

Let’s take a look at some of my recent new followers on Twitter. There’s @KieferBusby. I’d like to tell you something about Kiefer but I really can’t because his profile reads like this: “The most effective deal only for this … Continue reading →

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Digital Deception: The Online Makeover

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Ken Dowell

We live in a world where facelifts and hair transplants and tummy tucks are commonplace. Most of us know someone who has had a nose job or a breast enhancement. We endure these surgical or chemical treatments in the expectation … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Deception, Digital publishing | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments