ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

John Doe

John Doe is a phrase used to refer to an anonymous person in the law (or in real life). Basically, it's a fake name used when the real name of a person is not known, or when they don't want to be identified. For example, if a newspaper article is written about someone who did something wrong and they don't want their real name in the newspaper, they would be referred to as "John Doe" in the article.