spoofs

Spoofs are imitations or representations created to mislead or entertain. The term covers two broad senses: spoof as a humorous parody of a person, work, or genre, and spoof as a deceptive impersonation that attempts to pass as a legitimate entity. In everyday usage, the two senses can overlap when a parody imitates a real organization or public figure.

In media, spoofs are a form of parody that exaggerates genre conventions, tropes, or characters to amuse or critique. They often rely on recognizable cues from the source material and insert jokes that play on audience expectations. Classic spoofs in film and television include works that lampoon science fiction, action, or news formats, using imitation and satire to comment on culture and media itself.

In technology and communications, spoofing refers to deceptive impersonation or data forgery. Examples include email spoofing, where messages appear to come from a trusted address; caller ID spoofing to disguise the caller’s identity; IP or GPS spoofing to misrepresent origin or location. Spoofing is a common tactic in fraud and cybercrime, as well as a concern for security and trust online and in navigation systems.

Defenses emphasize authentication and verification, such as digital signatures, SPF/DKIM/DMARC for email, strong cryptographic protocols, and network filtering that can detect and block spoofed signals. Legally, spoofing can be unlawful when used to defraud, intimidate, or invade privacy, though satirical spoofs are generally protected as free expression when they do not misrepresent facts about a real person.