To address recent confusion, it is important to understand the role of impersonators and sockpuppets on Scratch. What's an impersonator? An impersonator is a user who pretends to be a well-known member of the community, such as Griffpatch, often with the intent to deceive others. Their goal is typically to gain followers, influence or fame by riding on the reputation of an established creator. In some cases, these users act out of character to intentionally damage the original creator's standing. What is a sockpuppet? "Sockpuppets are people — usually people who were part of a bullying campaign or other controversy — who create new accounts to pretend they're new to the community to gain the trust of users. They are not the same as impersonators." @Soaring-Jay "Identifying sockpuppets can be harder. Sockpuppets have ill intent, and will try to pretend to be a different person. Why? Who knows. But to identify the main account of a sockpuppet requires lots of focus and attention to detail. You have to compare typing styles (although a sockpuppet WILL try to change their typing style to decieve), and try to notice small slip-ups in typing styles. For a hypothetical example, I when I talk about KNY characters I like to type their names right, so I say "Tanjirō" instead of "Tanjiro." Not many people do this, so IF I had a sockpuppet account (which I don't), and I accidentally said "Tanjirō" instead of "Tanjiro" that would be a sign, but not enough proof, seeing as people have similar typing styles. Another way to tell if someone might be a sockpuppet is to look for things they know. If you told someone something, and only a few people know it, and the new/sockpuppet account knows it, that could be a sign. Similar to that, look for their interests. If there are similarities, that also could be a sign. But at the end of the day, not all new accounts are sockpuppet accounts. So you shouldn't accuse random people without evidence. I would like to add on that sockpuppets aren't always new accounts. They may create an account, wait a few weeks/months, and then start to be active as that would make them trusted more." - @Arowait Because this behavior involves identity theft and creates a misleading environment, it is a direct voilation of the Scratch Community Guidelines. Identifying these accounts requires careful observation of several kye details. First, examine the username and profile status closely. Imposters frequently use subtle misspellings, such as substituting a zero for the letter "O" or adding extra underscores. Furthermore, if a famous creator suddenly appears with a "New Scratcher" status or a very recent join date, it is a significant red flag. You should also compare the About Me and WIWO sections. While fakes often copy and paste this text, they may miss specific details or use phrasing that feels inconsistent with the original user's established voice. The account's content and social behavior provide further evidence. A genuine, high-profile creator will have a consistent history of original, high-quality projects, whereas an impersonator often has only a few low-effort remixes or stolen projects. Additionally, their communication style—such as their grammar, slang and tone in comments—will often differ from the real user. Be wary of accounts claiming their "main profile was banned/muted" adn "that's why they're on a different one". If you think an account is fake, the best course of action is to verify with the original person's official profile and avoid engaging with them to deny them the attention they seek.
