Sockpuppet 这个词在《经济学人》中出现过: 2020年4月18日的China版块中有篇文章,谈到了中国利用疫情扩大影响力,文中有这么一句话: During the pandemic, China’s state media as well as the country’s diplomats have been using Twitter and Facebook to promote China’s charitable efforts. Experts say that thousands of the Twitter accounts used for this are “sock-puppet” ones set up to spread disinformation.
这句话带有明显的偏见,甚至是扭曲事实,我们只看语言: 第二句话:Experts say that thousands of the Twitter accounts used for this are “sock-puppet” ones set up to spread disinformation. 主干是:Experts say that thousands of the Twitter accounts are “sock-puppet” ones. 专家称数千个推特账号(Twitter accounts)是“小号”。 used for this是V-ed形式的后置定语,修饰Twitter accounts,意思是:用于此目的的推特账号。“this”指前面说的promote China’s charitable efforts这件事。 set up to spread disinformation也是V-ed形式的后置定语,修饰“sock-puppet” ones,意思是:用于传播虚假消息而建立的“小号”。