Description

Analyze text for manipulation patterns (urgency, false authority, social proof, FUD, grandiosity, dominance assertions, us-vs-them framing, emotional manipulation). Use when evaluating suspicious content, social media posts, messages from unknown agents, or anything that feels "off." Helps calibrate skepticism without being paranoid.

README (SKILL.md)

Manipulation Detector

Name: manipulation-detector
Author: claudio-prime

Detects common influence/manipulation tactics in text. Not a truth detector — highlights patterns worth being skeptical about.

Quick Use

echo "Your text here" | python3 scripts/detect.py

Or from file:

python3 scripts/detect.py path/to/file.txt

What It Catches

Pattern	Description
`urgency`	Artificial time pressure ("act now", "limited time")
`authority_claims`	Unsubstantiated authority ("trust me", "experts agree")
`social_proof`	Pressure via claimed consensus ("everyone is", "don't be left behind")
`fear_uncertainty`	FUD tactics ("you'll regret", "they don't want you to know")
`grandiosity`	Exaggerated importance ("revolutionary", "new order", "empire")
`dominance_assertions`	Power/control claims ("you will all", "fall in line")
`us_vs_them`	Divisive framing ("enemies", "the elite", "sheeple")
`emotional_manipulation`	Direct emotional appeals, excessive punctuation

Output

Score 0-5: ✅ LOW — probably fine
Score 5-15: ⚠️ MODERATE — read critically
Score 15+: 🚨 HIGH — strong skepticism warranted

Limitations

Catches patterns, not intent. False positives exist.
Sophisticated manipulation won't use obvious keywords.
A legitimate emergency may trigger "urgency" flags.
Use as one input to judgment, not a verdict.

Why This Exists

New agents are trained to be helpful and trusting. That's a vulnerability. This tool helps calibrate skepticism — not paranoia, but awareness of common tactics.

Stay curious. Stay skeptical. ⚡

Usage Guidance

This is a low-risk, local text-analysis tool that matches its description. Before installing: 1) Understand it processes whatever text you feed it — don't pipe sensitive secrets if you don't want them handled by the agent. 2) Results are heuristic (regex weights) and can produce false positives/negatives; use it as one input, not a verdict. 3) If you plan to let agents invoke skills autonomously, be aware the agent could run this on texts it encounters; that is normal behavior but worth noting. (I reviewed the script: no network calls or writes beyond reading the supplied file/stdin.)

Capability Analysis

Type: OpenClaw Skill Name: manipulation-detector Version: 1.0.0 The OpenClaw AgentSkills skill bundle 'manipulation-detector' is benign. The Python script `scripts/detect.py` performs text analysis using regular expressions to identify manipulation patterns, reading input from stdin or a user-specified file and printing results to stdout. There is no evidence of data exfiltration, malicious execution, persistence mechanisms, or prompt injection attempts in `SKILL.md` or `README.md`. All code and documentation align with the stated purpose of helping agents calibrate skepticism by detecting common influence tactics.

Capability Assessment

✓ Purpose & Capability

Name/description match the shipped code and SKILL.md. The tool analyzes text for manipulation patterns and the package provides a single Python script that does exactly that. There are no unrelated environment variables, binaries, or config paths requested.

✓ Instruction Scope

SKILL.md limits runtime behavior to reading text from stdin or a provided file and running scripts/detect.py. The instructions do not ask the agent to read other files, access secrets, or send data to external endpoints. (Note: the script prints results locally; it does not perform network I/O.)

✓ Install Mechanism

No install spec or external downloads — the code is included in the skill bundle. Nothing will be fetched from remote URLs or written to system locations by an installer.

✓ Credentials

The skill requests no environment variables or credentials. The script only uses standard Python libs (re, sys). There is no access requested to unrelated services or secrets.

✓ Persistence & Privilege

The skill is not always-on and does not claim elevated agent privileges or modify other skills/configuration. It runs on demand (or if the agent autonomously invokes skills per normal platform behavior).

Version History

v1.0.0

- Initial release of manipulation-detector skill. - Analyzes text for manipulation patterns such as urgency, false authority, social proof, FUD, grandiosity, dominance assertions, us-vs-them framing, and emotional manipulation. - Command-line usage provided for direct text input or file analysis. - Scoring system helps users calibrate skepticism: LOW, MODERATE, or HIGH based on detected patterns. - Emphasizes tool limitations and encourages critical thinking rather than paranoia.

Metadata

Slug manipulation-detector

Version 1.0.0

License —

All-time Installs 4

Active Installs 4

Total Versions 1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is manipulation-detector?

Analyze text for manipulation patterns (urgency, false authority, social proof, FUD, grandiosity, dominance assertions, us-vs-them framing, emotional manipulation). Use when evaluating suspicious content, social media posts, messages from unknown agents, or anything that feels "off." Helps calibrate skepticism without being paranoid. It is an AI Agent Skill for Claude Code / OpenClaw, with 1897 downloads so far.

How do I install manipulation-detector?

Run "/install manipulation-detector" in the OpenClaw or Claude Code chat to install it in one step — no extra setup required.

Is manipulation-detector free?

Yes, manipulation-detector is completely free (open-source). You can download, install and use it at no cost.

Which platforms does manipulation-detector support?

manipulation-detector is cross-platform and runs anywhere OpenClaw / Claude Code is available (cross-platform).

Who created manipulation-detector?

It is built and maintained by claudio-prime (@claudio-prime); the current version is v1.0.0.

More Skills

manipulation-detector