Political decoy

A political decoy is a person employed to impersonate a politician, to draw attention away from the real person or to take risks on that person's behalf. This can also apply to military figures, or civilians impersonated for political or espionage purposes.

The political decoy is an individual who has been selected because of strong physical resemblance to the person being impersonated. This resemblance can be strengthened by plastic surgery. Often, such decoys are trained to speak and behave like the "target".

The practice of decoying is essentially little different from the profession of celebrity lookalike, in which people mimic famous entertainers whom they resemble. The only difference is that the "lookalike" presents an acknowledged artifice. The decoy must conceal his or her imposture from the "audience".

In 2001, Poland hosted the first-ever doppelganger convention, to which lookalikes from across the country turned up, offering the unlikely spectacle of Joseph Stalin hobnobbing with Elizabeth Taylor. Nearly all the doppelgangers at the event had complemented their resemblance to a famous person by costume.

Some "lookalikes" actually stop mimicking their targets and start pretending to be them. Comedian Robin Williams was one such victim, whose identity was allegedly "stolen" by professional look-alike Michael Clayton, for financial reasons.

Since deception is the whole purpose of employing a political decoy, there are many instances of alleged decoying which remain uncertain.

Joe R. Reeder, an undersecretary for the U.S. Army from 1993 to 1997, has gone on record with claims that a number of figures around the world have or have had decoys, including Manuel Noriega, Raoul Cédras, Enver Hoxha, Fidel Castro, George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden.

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