Not all comments and reviews online are genuine, that much is certain. And the profiles used to post disingenuous feedback are known as sock puppets: fake online identities used to praise, defend or create the illusion of support for a person or a company. In most cases, these profiles are maintained by those on the receiving end of criticism within online communities. We put the graphic below together to better shed light on this Internet phenomenon, and bring attention to common characteristics among posters of unnecessarily positive feedback.

(click image to enlarge)